tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77392509004064521552024-03-13T23:21:08.250-07:00INDIA - A NICE DEMOCRACYNaresh Kadyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08419516306288297445noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7739250900406452155.post-30480200747645839792008-03-04T17:17:00.000-08:002008-03-04T17:19:44.507-08:00<h1 class="firstHeading">India</h1> <h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</h3> <div id="jump-to-nav">Jump to: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#column-one">navigation</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#searchInput">search</a></div> <!-- start content --> <div class="metadata plainlinks" id="administrator" style="position: absolute; z-index: 100; right: 55px; top: 9px;"> <div style="position: relative;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Protection_policy" title="This page has been semi-protected from editing."><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Padlock-silver-medium.svg/20px-Padlock-silver-medium.svg.png" border="0" height="20" width="20" /></a></div> </div> <div style="right: 10px; display: none;" class="metadata topicon" id="featured-star"><map name="ImageMap_1" id="ImageMap_1"><area href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_articles" shape="rect" coords="0,0,14,14" alt="This is a featured article. Click here for more information." title="This is a featured article. Click here for more information."> </map> <div style="position: relative;"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/60/LinkFA-star.png" usemap="#ImageMap_1" border="0" height="14" width="14" /></div> </div> <div class="dablink">This article is about the modern Republic of India. For other uses, see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_%28disambiguation%29" title="India (disambiguation)">India (disambiguation)</a>.</div> <table class="infobox geography vcard" style="width: 46ex; margin-top: 0.75em;"> <tbody><tr class="adr"> <th colspan="3" class="mergedtoprow fn org country-name" style="padding: 0.25em 0.33em 0.33em; line-height: 1.2em; font-size: 1.25em;" align="center"><span title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration" class="Unicode" style="white-space: normal; text-decoration: none;" lang="sa-Latn" lang="sa-Latn">भारत गणराज्य</span>* <div style="padding-top: 0.25em;">Republic of India</div> </th> </tr> <tr class="mergedtoprow"> <td class="maptable" colspan="3" style="padding: 0.5em 0pt;" align="center"> <table style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; width: 100%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="center"> <tbody><tr> <td style="width: 58%; vertical-align: middle;" align="center"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_India.svg" class="image" title="Flag of India"><img alt="Flag of India" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_India.svg/125px-Flag_of_India.svg.png" class="thumbborder" border="0" height="83" width="125" /></a></td> <td style="width: auto; vertical-align: middle;" align="center"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Emblem_of_India.svg" class="image" title="Emblem of India"><img alt="Emblem of India" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Emblem_of_India.svg/85px-Emblem_of_India.svg.png" border="0" height="132" width="85" /></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"><small><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_India" title="Flag of India">Flag</a></small></td> <td align="center"><small><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emblem_of_India" title="Emblem of India">Emblem</a></small></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" style="line-height: 1.2em; text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motto" title="Motto">Motto</a>: </b><i>"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyameva_Jayate" title="Satyameva Jayate">Satyameva Jayate</a>"</i> <small>(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit" title="Sanskrit">Sanskrit</a>)</small><br /><span lang="sa" lang="sa">सत्यमेव जयते</span> <small>(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devan%C4%81gar%C4%AB" title="Devanāgarī">Devanāgarī</a>)<br />"Truth Alone Triumphs"<sup id="_ref-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-0" title="">[1]</a></sup></small></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" style="line-height: 1.2em; text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_anthem" title="National anthem">Anthem</a>: </b><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jana_Gana_Mana" title="Jana Gana Mana">Jana Gana Mana</a></i><small><br />Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people</small><sup id="_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-1" title="">[2]</a></sup><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" style="line-height: 1.2em; text-align: center;"><b><span class="plainlinks"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_anthem" title="National anthem">National Song</a><sup id="_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-3" title="">[4]</a></sup></span></b><br /><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vande_Mataram" title="Vande Mataram">Vande Mataram</a></i><small><br />I bow to thee, Mother</small><sup id="_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-2" title="">[3]</a></sup></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" style="padding: 0.6em 0em; text-align: center;"> <div class="center"> <div class="floatnone"><span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:IndiaLocation.png" class="image" title="Location of India"><img alt="Location of India" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/IndiaLocation.png/250px-IndiaLocation.png" border="0" height="110" width="250" /></a></span></div> </div> </td> </tr> <tr class="mergedtoprow"> <td colspan="2"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital" title="Capital">Capital</a></b></td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Delhi" title="New Delhi">New Delhi</a></td> </tr> <tr class="mergedbottomrow"> <th colspan="2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_India" title="Demographics of India">Largest city</a></th> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai" title="Mumbai">Mumbai</a></td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: middle; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_language" title="Official language">Official Languages</a>:<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_languages_of_India" title="Official languages of India">Scheduled Languages</a>:</th> <td> <div id="NavFrame1" class="NavFrame" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0pt;"> <div class="NavHead" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; width: 100%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="left"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_languages_of_India#Hindi_and_English" title="Official languages of India">Hindi, English</a><a href="javascript:toggleNavigationBar(1);" id="NavToggle1" class="NavToggle">[show]</a></div> <div class="NavContent" style="display: none; text-align: left;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi" title="Hindi">Hindi</a> in the Devanagari script is the official language of the union<sup id="_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-4" title="">[5]</a></sup> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language" title="English language">English</a> the 'subsidiary official language'.<sup id="_ref-English-subsidiary_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-English-subsidiary" title="">[6]</a></sup></div> </div> <div id="NavFrame2" class="NavFrame" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0pt;"> <div class="NavHead" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; width: 100%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="left"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_languages_of_India#The_Official_languages_of_the_Eighth_Schedule_to_the_Constitution" title="Official languages of India">8th Schedule:</a><a href="javascript:toggleNavigationBar(2);" id="NavToggle2" class="NavToggle">[show]</a></div> <div class="NavContent" style="display: none; text-align: left;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assamese_language" title="Assamese language">Assamese</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengali_language" title="Bengali language">Bengali</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodo_language" title="Bodo language">Bodo</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogri_language" title="Dogri language">Dogri</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gujarati_language" title="Gujarati language">Gujarati</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi" title="Hindi">Hindi</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kannada_language" title="Kannada language">Kannada</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmiri_language" title="Kashmiri language">Kashmiri</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konkani_language" title="Konkani language">Konkani</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maithili_language" title="Maithili language">Maithili</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayalam_language" title="Malayalam language">Malayalam</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meitei_language" title="Meitei language">Manipuri</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathi_language" title="Marathi language">Marathi</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepali_language" title="Nepali language">Nepali</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriya_language" title="Oriya language">Oriya</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punjabi_language" title="Punjabi language">Punjabi</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit" title="Sanskrit">Sanskrit</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santali_language" title="Santali language">Santali</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sindhi_language" title="Sindhi language">Sindhi</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_language" title="Tamil language">Tamil</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telugu_language" title="Telugu language">Telugu</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urdu" title="Urdu">Urdu</a><sup id="_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-5" title="">[7]</a></sup></div> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonym" title="Demonym">Demonym</a></th> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_India" title="Demographics of India">Indian</a></td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government" title="Government">Government</a></th> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_republic" title="Federal republic">Federal republic</a><sup id="_ref-CIA_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-CIA" title="">[8]</a></sup><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_system" title="Parliamentary system">Parliamentary democracy</a><sup id="_ref-IndiaGlance_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-IndiaGlance" title="">[9]</a></sup></td> </tr> <tr class="mergedrow"> <td style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.6em; width: 1em;"> - </td> <td style="padding-left: 0em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_India" title="President of India">President</a></td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratibha_Patil" title="Pratibha Patil">Pratibha Patil</a></td> </tr> <tr class="mergedbottomrow"> <td style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.6em; width: 1em;"> - </td> <td style="padding-left: 0em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_India" title="Prime Minister of India">Prime Minister</a></td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manmohan_Singh" title="Manmohan Singh">Manmohan Singh</a></td> </tr> <tr class="mergedtoprow"> <th colspan="2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_independence_movement" title="Indian independence movement">Independence</a></th> <td>from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Raj" title="British Raj">British colonial rule</a> </td> </tr> <tr class="mergedrow"> <td style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.6em; width: 1em;"> - </td> <td style="padding-left: 0em;">Declared</td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_15" title="August 15">15 August</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1947" title="1947">1947</a> </td> </tr> <tr class="mergedbottomrow"> <td style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.6em; width: 1em;"> - </td> <td style="padding-left: 0em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic" title="Republic">Republic</a></td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_26" title="January 26">26 January</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950" title="1950">1950</a> </td> </tr> <tr class="mergedtoprow"> <th colspan="3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area" title="Area">Area</a></th> </tr> <tr class="mergedrow"> <td style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.6em; width: 1em;"> - </td> <td style="padding-left: 0em;">Total</td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_E12_m%C2%B2" class="mw-redirect" title="1 E12 m²">3,287,590<sup>‡</sup> km²</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_outlying_territories_by_area" class="mw-redirect" title="List of countries and outlying territories by area">7th</a>)<br />1,269,346 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_mile" title="Square mile">sq mi</a> </td> </tr> <tr class="mergedrow"> <td style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.6em; width: 1em;"> - </td> <td style="padding-left: 0em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water" title="Water">Water</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percent" class="mw-redirect" title="Percent">%</a>)</td> <td>9.56</td> </tr> <tr class="mergedtoprow"> <th colspan="3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population" title="Population">Population</a></th> </tr> <tr class="mergedrow"> <td style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.6em; width: 1em;"> - </td> <td style="padding-left: 0em;">2007 estimate</td> <td>1.12 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1000000000_%28number%29" title="1000000000 (number)">billion</a><sup id="_ref-CIA_1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-CIA" title="">[8]</a></sup> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population" title="List of countries by population">2nd</a>)</td> </tr> <tr class="mergedrow"> <td style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.6em; width: 1em;"> - </td> <td style="padding-left: 0em;">2001 census</td> <td>1,027,015,248 </td> </tr> <tr class="mergedbottomrow"> <td style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.6em; width: 1em;"> - </td> <td style="padding-left: 0em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_density" title="Population density">Density</a></td> <td>329/km² (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_density" title="List of countries by population density">31st</a>)<br />852/sq mi</td> </tr> <tr class="mergedtoprow"> <td colspan="2"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product" title="Gross domestic product">GDP</a></b> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity" title="Purchasing power parity">PPP</a>)</td> <td>2007 estimate</td> </tr> <tr class="mergedrow"> <td style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.6em; width: 1em;"> - </td> <td style="padding-left: 0em;">Total</td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_dollar" title="United States dollar">$</a> 4.726 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1000000000000_%28number%29" class="mw-redirect" title="1000000000000 (number)">trillion</a><sup id="_ref-CIA_2" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-CIA" title="">[8]</a></sup> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29" title="List of countries by GDP (PPP)">3rd</a>)</td> </tr> <tr class="mergedbottomrow"> <td style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.6em; width: 1em;"> - </td> <td style="padding-left: 0em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per_capita" title="Per capita">Per capita</a></td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_dollar" title="United States dollar">$</a> 4,182 (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_per_capita" title="List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita">118th</a>)</td> </tr> <tr class="mergedtoprow"> <td colspan="2"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product" title="Gross domestic product">GDP</a></b> (nominal)</td> <td>2007 estimate</td> </tr> <tr class="mergedrow"> <td style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.6em; width: 1em;"> - </td> <td style="padding-left: 0em;">Total</td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_dollar" title="United States dollar">$</a> 1.089 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1000000000000_%28number%29" class="mw-redirect" title="1000000000000 (number)">trillion</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28nominal%29" title="List of countries by GDP (nominal)">12th</a>)</td> </tr> <tr class="mergedbottomrow"> <td style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.6em; width: 1em;"> - </td> <td style="padding-left: 0em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per_capita" title="Per capita">Per capita</a></td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_dollar" title="United States dollar">$</a> 1004 (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28nominal%29_per_capita" title="List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita">132nd</a>)</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient" title="Gini coefficient">Gini</a></b> (1999-2000)</td> <td>32.5<sup id="_ref-Gini_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Gini" title="">[10]</a></sup> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index" title="Human Development Index">HDI</a></b> (2007)</td> <td><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 0); font-size: larger;">▲</span> 0.619 (<span style="color:#ffcc00;">medium</span>) (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index" title="List of countries by Human Development Index">128th</a>)</td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: middle;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency" title="Currency">Currency</a></th> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupee" title="Indian rupee">Indian rupee</a> (₨) (<code><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217" title="ISO 4217">INR</a></code>)</td> </tr> <tr class="mergedtoprow"> <th colspan="2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_zone" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Standard_Time" title="Indian Standard Time">IST</a> <span style="white-space: nowrap;">(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coordinated_Universal_Time" title="Coordinated Universal Time">UTC</a>+5:30)</span></td> </tr> <tr class="mergedbottomrow"> <td style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.6em; width: 1em;"> - </td> <td style="padding-left: 0em;">Summer (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time" title="Daylight saving time">DST</a>)</td> <td>not observed (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coordinated_Universal_Time" title="Coordinated Universal Time">UTC</a>+5:30)</td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_code_top-level_domain" title="Country code top-level domain">Internet TLD</a></th> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.in" title=".in">.in</a></td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_country_calling_codes" title="List of country calling codes">Calling code</a></th> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%2B91" class="mw-redirect" title="+91">+91</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"> <div id="NavFrame3" class="NavFrame" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0pt;"> <div class="NavHead" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; width: 100%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="left"><small><b>Non-numbered Footnotes:</b></small><a href="javascript:toggleNavigationBar(3);" id="NavToggle3" class="NavToggle">[show]</a></div> <div class="NavContent" style="display: none; text-align: left;"><small><b>*</b> <i>Bharat Ganarajya</i>, that is, the Republic of India in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi" title="Hindi">Hindi</a>,<sup id="_ref-IndiaGlance_1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-IndiaGlance" title="">[9]</a></sup> written in the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devan%C4%81gar%C4%AB" title="Devanāgarī">Devanāgarī</a></i> script. See also <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_names_of_India" title="Official names of India">other official names</a><br /><b>‡</b> This is the figure as per the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations" title="United Nations">United Nations</a> though the Indian government lists the total area as 3,287,260 square kilometers.<sup id="_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-6" title="">[11]</a></sup></small></div> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p><b>India</b> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi" title="Hindi">Hindi</a>: भारत <i><span lang="inc-Latn" lang="inc-Latn">Bhārat</span></i>; see also <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_names_of_India" title="Official names of India">other names</a>), officially the <b>Republic of India</b> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi" title="Hindi">Hindi</a>: भारत गणराज्य <i><span lang="inc-Latn" lang="inc-Latn">Bhārat Gaṇarājya</span></i>), is a country in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Asia" title="South Asia">South</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia" title="Asia">Asia</a>. It is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_outlying_territories_by_total_area" title="List of countries and outlying territories by total area">seventh largest</a> country by geographical area, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population" title="List of countries by population">second most populous</a> country, and the most populous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy" title="Democracy">democracy</a> in the world.<sup id="_ref-largestdem1_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-largestdem1" title="">[12]</a></sup> Bounded by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Ocean" title="Indian Ocean">Indian Ocean</a> on the south, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_Sea" title="Arabian Sea">Arabian Sea</a> on the west, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Bengal" title="Bay of Bengal">Bay of Bengal</a> on the east, India has a coastline of 7,517 kilometers (4,671 mi).<sup id="_ref-sanilkumar_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-sanilkumar" title="">[13]</a></sup> It borders <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a> to the west;<sup id="_ref-Afghanistan_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Afghanistan" title="">[14]</a></sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_China" title="People's Republic of China">China</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal" title="Nepal">Nepal</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan" title="Bhutan">Bhutan</a> to the north-east; and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh" title="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma" title="Burma">Burma</a> to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka" title="Sri Lanka">Sri Lanka</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maldives" title="Maldives">Maldives</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a>.</p> <p>Home to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilization" title="Indus Valley Civilization">Indus Valley Civilization</a> and a region of historic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_route" title="Trade route">trade routes</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_India" title="History of India">vast empires</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_subcontinent" title="Indian subcontinent">Indian subcontinent</a> was identified with its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_India" title="Economic history of India">commercial</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_India" title="Culture of India">cultural</a> wealth for much of its long history.<sup id="_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-7" title="">[15]</a></sup> Four major world religions, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism">Hinduism</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism" title="Buddhism">Buddhism</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism" title="Jainism">Jainism</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhism" title="Sikhism">Sikhism</a> originated here, while <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism" title="Zoroastrianism">Zoroastrianism</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_India" title="History of the Jews in India">Judaism</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_India" title="Christianity in India">Christianity</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_India" title="Islam in India">Islam</a> arrived in the first millennium <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Era" title="Common Era">CE</a> and shaped the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honourable_East_India_Company" title="Honourable East India Company">British East India Company</a> from the early eighteenth century and colonised by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Raj" title="British Raj">United Kingdom</a> from the mid-nineteenth century, India became a modern <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation_state" title="Nation state">nation state</a> in 1947 after a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_independence_movement" title="Indian independence movement">struggle for independence</a> that was marked by widespread <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonviolent_resistance" title="Nonviolent resistance">nonviolent resistance</a>.</p> <p>India is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28nominal%29" title="List of countries by GDP (nominal)">world's twelfth largest economy</a> at market exchange rates and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29" title="List of countries by GDP (PPP)">third largest</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity" title="Purchasing power parity">purchasing power</a>. Economic reforms have transformed it into the second <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28real%29_growth_rate" title="List of countries by GDP (real) growth rate">fastest growing large economy</a>;<sup id="_ref-ERS_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-ERS" title="">[16]</a></sup> however, it still suffers from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_percentage_of_population_living_in_poverty" title="List of countries by percentage of population living in poverty">high levels</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_India" title="Poverty in India">poverty</a>,<sup id="_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-8" title="">[17]</a></sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy" title="Literacy">illiteracy</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malnutrition#Statistics" title="Malnutrition">malnutrition</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_issues_in_India" title="Environmental issues in India">environmental degradation</a>. A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_pluralism" title="Religious pluralism">pluralistic</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_India" title="Languages of India">multilingual</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiethnic_society" title="Multiethnic society">multiethnic society</a>, India is also home to a diversity of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauna_of_India" title="Fauna of India">wildlife</a> in a variety of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_areas_of_India" title="Protected areas of India">protected habitats</a>.</p> <table id="toc" class="toc" summary="Contents"> <tbody><tr> <td> <div id="toctitle"> <h2>Contents</h2> <span class="toctoggle"><br /></span></div> <ul><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#Etymology"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Etymology</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#History"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">History</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#Government"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Government</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#Politics"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Politics</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#Foreign_relations_and_military"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Foreign relations and military</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#Subdivisions"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Subdivisions</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#Geography"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">Geography</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#Flora_and_fauna"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">Flora and fauna</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#Economy"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">Economy</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#Demographics"><span class="tocnumber">10</span> <span class="toctext">Demographics</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#Culture"><span class="tocnumber">11</span> <span class="toctext">Culture</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#Sports"><span class="tocnumber">12</span> <span class="toctext">Sports</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">13</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#Notes"><span class="tocnumber">14</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#References"><span class="tocnumber">15</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">16</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li></ul> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); } //]]> </script> <p><a name="Etymology" id="Etymology"></a></p> <h2><span class="mw-headline">Etymology</span></h2> <dl><dd> <div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle"><i>Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_India" title="Names of India">Names of India</a></i></div> </dd></dl> <p>The name <i>India</i> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Pronunciation" title="Help:Pronunciation">pronounced</a> <span title="Pronunciation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA">/ˈɪndiə/</span>) is derived from <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_River" title="Indus River">Indus</a></i>, which is derived from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Persian" title="Old Persian">Old Persian</a> word <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu" title="Hindu">Hindu</a></i>, from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit" title="Sanskrit">Sanskrit</a> <i>Sindhu</i>, the historic local appellation for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_River" title="Indus River">Indus River</a>.<sup id="_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-9" title="">[18]</a></sup> The ancient <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greeks" title="Greeks">Greeks</a> referred to the Indians as <i>Indoi</i> (Ινδοί), the people of the Indus.<sup id="_ref-basham_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-basham" title="">[19]</a></sup> The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_India" title="Constitution of India">Constitution of India</a> and common usage in various Indian languages also recognise <i>Bharat</i> (<span class="unicode audiolink"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Hi-Bharat.ogg" class="internal" title="Hi-Bharat.ogg">pronunciation</a></span> <span class="metadata audiolinkinfo"><small>(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Media_help" title="Wikipedia:Media help">help</a>·<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hi-Bharat.ogg" title="Image:Hi-Bharat.ogg">info</a>)</small></span>, <span title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA">/bʰɑːrət̪/</span>) as an official name of equal status.<sup id="_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-10" title="">[20]</a></sup> <i>Hindustan</i> (<span class="IPA audiolink nounderlines" style="white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Hindustan.ogg" class="internal" title="Hindustan.ogg">/hin̪d̪ust̪ɑːn/</a></span> <span class="metadata audiolinkinfo"><small>(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hindustan.ogg" title="Image:Hindustan.ogg">info</a>)</small></span>), which is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_language" title="Persian language">Persian</a> word for “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-stan" title="-stan">Land</a> of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu" title="Hindu">Hindus</a>” and historically referred to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_India" title="North India">northern India</a>, is also occasionally used as a synonym for all of India.<sup id="_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-11" title="">[21]</a></sup></p> <p><a name="History" id="History"></a></p> <h2><span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2> <dl><dd> <div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle"><i>Main articles: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_India" title="History of India">History of India</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Republic_of_India" title="History of the Republic of India">History of the Republic of India</a></i></div> </dd></dl> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Age" title="Stone Age">Stone Age</a> rock shelters with paintings at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhimbetka_rock_shelters" title="Bhimbetka rock shelters">Bhimbetka rock shelters</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhya_Pradesh" title="Madhya Pradesh">Madhya Pradesh</a> 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 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilization" title="Indus Valley Civilization">Indus Valley Civilization</a>,<sup id="_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-12" title="">[22]</a></sup> dating back to 3300 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Era" title="Common Era">BCE</a> in western India. It was followed by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedic_period" title="Vedic period">Vedic period</a>, which laid the foundations of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism">Hinduism</a> and other cultural aspects of early Indian society, and ended in the 500s BC. From around 550 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Era" title="Common Era">BCE</a>, many independent kingdoms and republics known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahajanapadas" title="Mahajanapadas">Mahajanapadas</a> were established across the country.<sup id="_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-13" title="">[23]</a></sup></p> <div class="thumb tleft"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width: 182px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Indischer_version3.jpg" class="image" title="Paintings at the Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, 6th century."><img alt="Paintings at the Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, 6th century." src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Indischer_version3.jpg/180px-Indischer_version3.jpg" class="thumbimage" border="0" height="186" width="180" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Indischer_version3.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> Paintings at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajanta_Caves" title="Ajanta Caves">Ajanta Caves</a> in Aurangabad, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharashtra" title="Maharashtra">Maharashtra</a>, 6th century.</div> </div> </div> <p>The empire built by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurya_Empire" title="Maurya Empire">Maurya Empire</a> under Emperor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashoka_the_Great" title="Ashoka the Great">Ashoka</a> united most of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Asia" title="South Asia">South Asia</a> in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_century_BC" title="3rd century BC">third century BCE</a>.<sup id="_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-14" title="">[24]</a></sup> From 180 BCE, a series of invasions from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Asia" title="Central Asia">Central Asia</a> followed, including those led by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Greek_Kingdom" title="Indo-Greek Kingdom">Indo-Greeks</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Scythians" title="Indo-Scythians">Indo-Scythians</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Parthian_Kingdom" title="Indo-Parthian Kingdom">Indo-Parthians</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushan_Empire" title="Kushan Empire">Kushans</a> in the north-western <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_subcontinent" title="Indian subcontinent">Indian subcontinent</a>. From the third century CE, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gupta_Empire" title="Gupta Empire">Gupta dynasty</a> oversaw the period referred to as ancient "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Age_of_India" title="Golden Age of India">India's Golden Age</a>."<sup id="_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-15" title="">[25]</a></sup><sup id="_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-16" title="">[26]</a></sup> Among the notable <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_India" title="South India">South Indian</a> empires were the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalukya_dynasty" title="Chalukya dynasty">Chalukyas</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtrakuta_Dynasty" title="Rashtrakuta Dynasty">Rashtrakutas</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoysala_Empire" title="Hoysala Empire">Hoysalas</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pallava" title="Pallava">Pallavas</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandyan_Kingdom" title="Pandyan Kingdom">Pandyas</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chola_Dynasty" title="Chola Dynasty">Cholas</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_technology_in_ancient_India" title="Science and technology in ancient India">Science, engineering</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_art" title="Indian art">art</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_literature" title="Indian literature">literature</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_technology_in_ancient_India#Astronomy" title="Science and technology in ancient India">astronomy</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_philosophy" title="Indian philosophy">philosophy</a> flourished under the patronage of these kings.</p> <p>Following invasions from Central Asia between the tenth and twelfth centuries, much of north India came under the rule of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi_Sultanate" title="Delhi Sultanate">Delhi Sultanate</a>, and later the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal_Empire" title="Mughal Empire">Mughal Empire</a>. Mughal emperors gradually expanded their kingdoms to cover large parts of the subcontinent. Nevertheless, several indigenous kingdoms, such as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijayanagara_Empire" title="Vijayanagara Empire">Vijayanagara Empire</a>, flourished, especially in the south. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century, the Mughal supremacy declined and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha_Empire" title="Maratha Empire">Maratha Empire</a> became the dominant power. From the sixteenth century, several <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">European</a> countries, including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal" title="Portugal">Portugal</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France" title="France">France</a>, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>, started arriving as traders and later took advantage of the fractious nature of relations between the kingdoms to establish <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony" title="Colony">colonies</a> in the country. By 1856, most of India was under the control of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honourable_East_India_Company" title="Honourable East India Company">British East India Company</a>.<sup id="_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-17" title="">[27]</a></sup> A year later, a nationwide insurrection of rebelling military units and kingdoms, variously referred to as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Rebellion_of_1857" title="Indian Rebellion of 1857">First War of Indian Independence</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Rebellion_of_1857" title="Indian Rebellion of 1857">Sepoy Mutiny</a>, seriously challenged British rule but eventually failed. As a consequence, India came under the direct control of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Monarchy of the United Kingdom">British Crown</a> as a colony of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empire" title="British Empire">British Empire</a>.</p> <div class="thumb tleft"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width: 182px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Nehru_Gandhi_1937_touchup.jpg" class="image" title="Mahatma Gandhi (right) with Jawaharlal Nehru, 1937. Nehru would go on to become India's first prime minister in 1947."><img alt="Mahatma Gandhi (right) with Jawaharlal Nehru, 1937. Nehru would go on to become India's first prime minister in 1947." src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c5/Nehru_Gandhi_1937_touchup.jpg/180px-Nehru_Gandhi_1937_touchup.jpg" class="thumbimage" border="0" height="119" width="180" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Nehru_Gandhi_1937_touchup.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi" title="Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi">Mahatma Gandhi</a> (right) with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jawaharlal_Nehru" title="Jawaharlal Nehru">Jawaharlal Nehru</a>, 1937. Nehru would go on to become India's first prime minister in 1947.</div> </div> </div> <p>During the first half of the twentieth century, a nationwide <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_independence_movement" title="Indian independence movement">struggle for independence</a> was launched by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_National_Congress" title="Indian National Congress">Indian National Congress</a> and other political organizations. In the 1920s and 1930, a movement led by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi" title="Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi">Mahatma Gandhi</a>, and displaying commitment to <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahimsa" title="Ahimsa">ahimsa</a></i>, or non-violence, millions of protesters engaged in mass campaigns of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobedience" title="Civil disobedience">civil disobedience</a>.<sup id="_ref-CONCISE_ENCYCLOPEDIA_3_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-CONCISE_ENCYCLOPEDIA_3" title="">[28]</a></sup> Finally, on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_15" title="August 15">15 August</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1947" title="1947">1947</a>, India gained independence from British rule, but was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_India" title="Partition of India">partitioned</a>, in accordance to wishes of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_League" title="Muslim League">Muslim League</a>, along the lines of religion to create the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Muslim_nationalism" title="Indian Muslim nationalism">Islamic</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation_state" title="Nation state">nation state</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a>.<sup id="_ref-CONCISE_ENCYCLOPEDIA.._0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-CONCISE_ENCYCLOPEDIA.." title="">[29]</a></sup> Three years later, on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_26" title="January 26">26 January</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950" title="1950">1950</a>, India became a republic and a new <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_India" title="Constitution of India">constitution</a> came into effect.<sup id="_ref-CIA_3" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-CIA" title="">[8]</a></sup></p> <p>Since independence, India has experienced sectarian violence and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurgency" title="Insurgency">insurgencies</a> in various parts of the country, but has maintained its unity and democracy. It has unresolved territorial disputes with China, which in 1962 escalated into the brief <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Indian_War" title="Sino-Indian War">Sino-Indian War</a>; and with Pakistan, which resulted in wars in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Pakistani_War_of_1947" title="Indo-Pakistani War of 1947">1947</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Pakistani_War_of_1965" title="Indo-Pakistani War of 1965">1965</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Pakistani_War_of_1971" title="Indo-Pakistani War of 1971">1971</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kargil_War" title="Kargil War">1999</a>. India is a founding member of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Aligned_Movement" title="Non-Aligned Movement">Non-Aligned Movement</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations" title="United Nations">United Nations</a> (as part of British India). In 1974, India conducted an underground <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiling_Buddha" title="Smiling Buddha">nuclear test</a>.<sup id="_ref-India_is_a_Nuclear_State_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-India_is_a_Nuclear_State" title="">[30]</a></sup> This was followed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokhran-II" title="Pokhran-II">five more tests</a> in 1998, making India a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_with_nuclear_weapons#Estimated_worldwide_nuclear_stockpiles" title="List of states with nuclear weapons">nuclear state</a>.<sup id="_ref-India_is_a_Nuclear_State_1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-India_is_a_Nuclear_State" title="">[30]</a></sup> Beginning in 1991, significant economic reforms<sup id="_ref-Montek_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Montek" title="">[31]</a></sup> have transformed India into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28real%29_growth_rate" title="List of countries by GDP (real) growth rate">one of the fastest-growing economies</a> in the world, adding to its global and regional clout.<sup id="_ref-ERS_1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-ERS" title="">[16]</a></sup></p> <p><a name="Government" id="Government"></a></p> <h2><span class="mw-headline">Government</span></h2> <dl><dd> <div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle"><i>Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_India" title="Government of India">Government of India</a></i></div> </dd></dl> <table class="infobox" style="margin-left: 3em; font-size: 85%;" align="right" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <th style="background: rgb(238, 238, 238) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" colspan="2"><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_India.svg" class="image" title="Flag of India"><img alt="Flag of India" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_India.svg/22px-Flag_of_India.svg.png" class="thumbborder" border="0" height="15" width="22" /></a></span> National Symbols of India<sup id="_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-18" title="">[32]</a></sup></th> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 2em;"><b>Flag</b></td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_India" title="Flag of India">Tricolour</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 2em;"><b>Emblem</b></td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emblem_of_India" title="Emblem of India">Sarnath Lion Capital</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 2em;"><b>Anthem</b></td> <td><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jana_Gana_Mana" title="Jana Gana Mana">Jana Gana Mana</a></i></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 2em;"><b>Song</b></td> <td><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vande_Mataram" title="Vande Mataram">Vandē Mātaram</a></i></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 2em;"><b>Animal</b></td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_Tiger" title="Bengal Tiger">Royal Bengal Tiger</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 2em;"><b>Bird</b></td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Peafowl" title="Indian Peafowl">Indian Peafowl</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 2em;"><b>Flower</b></td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelumbo_nucifera" title="Nelumbo nucifera">Lotus</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 2em;"><b>Tree</b></td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banyan" title="Banyan">Banyan</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 2em;"><b>Fruit</b></td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mango" title="Mango">Mango</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 2em;"><b>Sport</b></td> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_hockey" title="Field hockey">Field hockey</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 2em;"><b>Calendar</b></td> <td><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_national_calendar" title="Indian national calendar">Saka</a></i></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_India" title="Constitution of India">constitution of India</a>, the longest and most exhaustive constitution of any independent nation in the world, came into force on January 26, 1950.<sup id="_ref-Pylee2004_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Pylee2004" title="">[33]</a></sup> The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_India#Preamble" title="Constitution of India">preamble</a> of the constitution defines India as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereignty" title="Sovereignty">sovereign</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism" title="Socialism">socialist</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularism" title="Secularism">secular</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_democracy" title="Liberal democracy">democratic</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic" title="Republic">republic</a>.<sup id="_ref-Dutt1998_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Dutt1998" title="">[34]</a></sup> India has a quasi-federal form of government<sup id="_ref-Wheare1964_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Wheare1964" title="">[35]</a></sup> and a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameralism" title="Bicameralism">bicameral</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament" title="Parliament">parliament</a> operating under a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_system" title="Westminster system">Westminster-style</a> parliamentary system. It has three branches of governance: the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legislature" title="Legislature">Legislature</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_%28government%29" title="Executive (government)">Executive</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judiciary" title="Judiciary">Judiciary</a>.</p> <p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_India" title="President of India">President of India</a> is the official <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_of_state" title="Head of state">head of state</a><sup id="_ref-Sharma1950_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Sharma1950" title="">[36]</a></sup> elected indirectly by an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_college" title="Electoral college">electoral college</a><sup id="_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-19" title="">[37]</a></sup> for a five-year term.<sup id="_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-20" title="">[38]</a></sup><sup id="_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-21" title="">[39]</a></sup> The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_India" title="Prime Minister of India">Prime Minister</a> is, however, the <i>de facto</i> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_of_government" title="Head of government">head of government</a> and exercises most executive powers.<sup id="_ref-Sharma1950_1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Sharma1950" title="">[36]</a></sup> The Prime Minister is appointed by the President<sup id="_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-22" title="">[40]</a></sup> and, by convention, is the candidate supported by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_party" title="Political party">party</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_alliance" title="Political alliance">political alliance</a> holding the majority of seats in the lower house of Parliament.<sup id="_ref-Sharma1950_2" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Sharma1950" title="">[36]</a></sup></p> <p>The legislature of India is the bicameral <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_India" title="Parliament of India">Parliament</a>, which consists of the upper house called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajya_Sabha" title="Rajya Sabha">Rajya Sabha</a> (Council of States) and the lower house called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lok_Sabha" title="Lok Sabha">Lok Sabha</a> (House of People).<sup id="_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-23" title="">[41]</a></sup> The Rajya Sabha, a permanent body, has up to 250 members serving staggered six year terms.<sup id="_ref-Parliament_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Parliament" title="">[42]</a></sup> Most are elected indirectly by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_and_territories_of_India" title="States and territories of India">state and territorial</a> legislatures in proportion to the state's population.<sup id="_ref-Parliament_1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Parliament" title="">[42]</a></sup> The 543 of the Lok Sabha's 545 members are directly elected by popular vote to represent individual <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constituency" title="Constituency">constituencies</a> for five year terms.<sup id="_ref-Parliament_2" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Parliament" title="">[42]</a></sup> The other two members are nominated by the President from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Indian" title="Anglo-Indian">Anglo-Indian</a> community if, in his opinion, the community is not adequately represented.<sup id="_ref-Parliament_3" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Parliament" title="">[42]</a></sup></p> <p>The executive branch consists of the President, Vice-President, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Ministers_of_Republic_of_India" title="Council of Ministers of Republic of India">Council of Ministers</a> (the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet" title="Cabinet">Cabinet</a> being its executive committee) headed by the Prime Minister. Any minister holding a portfolio must be a member of either house of parliament. In the Indian parliamentary system, the executive is subordinate to the legislature, with the Prime Minister and his Council being directly responsible to the lower house of the parliament.<sup id="_ref-manorama_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-manorama" title="">[43]</a></sup></p> <p>India has a unitary three-tier judiciary, consisting of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_India" title="Supreme Court of India">Supreme Court</a>, headed by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Justice_of_India" title="Chief Justice of India">Chief Justice of India</a>, twenty-one <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Courts_of_India" title="High Courts of India">High Courts</a>, and a large number of trial courts.<sup id="_ref-Neuborne2003_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Neuborne2003" title="">[44]</a></sup> The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over cases involving <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_Rights_in_India" title="Fundamental Rights in India">fundamental rights</a> and over disputes between states and the Centre, and appellate jurisdiction over the High Courts.<sup id="_ref-SCjurisdiction_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-SCjurisdiction" title="">[45]</a></sup> It is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_independence" title="Judicial independence">judicially independent</a>,<sup id="_ref-Neuborne2003_1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Neuborne2003" title="">[44]</a></sup> and has the power to declare the law and to strike down union or state laws which contravene the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_India" title="Constitution of India">Constitution</a>.<sup id="_ref-Sripati1998_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Sripati1998" title="">[46]</a></sup> The role as the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution is one of the most important functions of the Supreme Court.<sup id="_ref-Pylee2004-2_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Pylee2004-2" title="">[47]</a></sup></p> <p><a name="Politics" id="Politics"></a></p> <h2><span class="mw-headline">Politics</span></h2> <dl><dd> <div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle"><i>Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_India" title="Politics of India">Politics of India</a></i></div> </dd></dl> <div class="thumb tright"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width: 182px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:NorthBlock.jpg" class="image" title="The North Block, in New Delhi, houses key government offices."><img alt="The North Block, in New Delhi, houses key government offices." src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/NorthBlock.jpg/180px-NorthBlock.jpg" class="thumbimage" border="0" height="124" width="180" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:NorthBlock.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretariat_Building" title="Secretariat Building">North Block</a>, in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Delhi" title="New Delhi">New Delhi</a>, houses key government offices.</div> </div> </div> <p>India is the largest <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy" title="Democracy">democracy</a> in the world.<sup id="_ref-largestdem1_1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-largestdem1" title="">[12]</a></sup><sup id="_ref-largestdem2_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-largestdem2" title="">[48]</a></sup> For most of its democratic history, the federal government has been led by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_National_Congress" title="Indian National Congress">Indian National Congress</a> (INC).<sup id="_ref-LOC_PROFILE_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-LOC_PROFILE" title="">[49]</a></sup> State politics have been dominated by several national parties including the INC, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharatiya_Janata_Party" title="Bharatiya Janata Party">Bharatiya Janata Party</a> (BJP), the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_India" title="Communist Party of India">Communist Party of India</a> (CPI), and various regional parties. From 1950 to 1990, barring two brief periods, the INC enjoyed a parliamentary majority. The INC was out of power between 1977 and 1980, when the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janata_Party" title="Janata Party">Janata Party</a> won the election owing to public discontent with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emergency_%28India%29" title="The Emergency (India)">"Emergency"</a> declared by the then Prime Minister <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indira_Gandhi" title="Indira Gandhi">Indira Gandhi</a>. In 1989, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janata_Dal" title="Janata Dal">Janata Dal</a>-led <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Front_%28India%29" title="National Front (India)">National Front</a> coalition in alliance with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Front" title="Left Front">Left Front</a> coalition won the elections but managed to stay in power for only two years.<sup id="_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-24" title="">[50]</a></sup></p> <p>The years 1996–1998 were a period of turmoil in the federal government with several short-lived alliances holding sway. The BJP formed a government briefly in 1996, followed by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Front_%28India%29" title="United Front (India)">United Front</a> coalition. In 1998, the BJP formed the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Democratic_Alliance_%28India%29" title="National Democratic Alliance (India)">National Democratic Alliance</a> (NDA) with several regional parties and became the first non-Congress government to complete a full five-year term.<sup id="_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-25" title="">[51]</a></sup> In the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_general_election%2C_2004" title="Indian general election, 2004">2004 Indian elections</a>, the INC won the largest number of Lok Sabha seats and formed a government with a coalition called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Progressive_Alliance" title="United Progressive Alliance">United Progressive Alliance</a> (UPA), supported by various left-leaning parties and members opposed to the BJP.<sup id="_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-26" title="">[52]</a></sup></p> <p><a name="Foreign_relations_and_military" id="Foreign_relations_and_military"></a></p> <h2><span class="mw-headline">Foreign relations and military</span></h2> <dl><dd> <div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle"><i>Main articles: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_India" title="Foreign relations of India">Foreign relations of India</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Armed_Forces" title="Indian Armed Forces">Indian Armed Forces</a></i></div> </dd></dl> <div class="thumb tright"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width: 182px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SU-30MKI-g4sp.jpg" class="image" title="The Sukhoi-30 MKI is part of the Indian Air Force."><img alt="The Sukhoi-30 MKI is part of the Indian Air Force." src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/SU-30MKI-g4sp.jpg/180px-SU-30MKI-g4sp.jpg" class="thumbimage" border="0" height="120" width="180" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SU-30MKI-g4sp.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-30MKI" title="Sukhoi Su-30MKI">Sukhoi-30 MKI</a> is part of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Air_Force" title="Indian Air Force">Indian Air Force</a>.</div> </div> </div> <p>Since its independence in 1947, India has maintained cordial relationships with most nations. It took a leading role in the 1950s by advocating the independence of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_former_European_colonies" title="List of former European colonies">European colonies</a> in Africa and Asia.<sup id="_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-27" title="">[53]</a></sup> India is a founding member of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role_of_India_in_Non-Aligned_Movement" title="Role of India in Non-Aligned Movement">Non-Aligned Movement</a>.<sup id="_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-28" title="">[54]</a></sup> After the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Indian_War" title="Sino-Indian War">Sino-Indian War</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Pakistani_War_of_1965" title="Indo-Pakistani War of 1965">Indo-Pakistani War of 1965</a>, India's relationship with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> warmed at the expense of ties with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> and continued to remain so until the end of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War" title="Cold War">Cold War</a>. India has fought <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Pakistani_wars_and_conflicts" title="Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts">two wars with Pakistan</a>, primarily over <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir" title="Kashmir">Kashmir</a>. India also fought and won an additional war with Pakistan for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Liberation_War" title="Bangladesh Liberation War">the liberation of Bangladesh</a> in 1971.</p> <p>In recent years, India has played an influential role in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Southeast_Asian_Nations" title="Association of Southeast Asian Nations">ASEAN</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Asian_Association_for_Regional_Cooperation" title="South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation">SAARC</a>, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization" title="World Trade Organization">WTO</a>.<sup class="noprint Template-Fact"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources since January 2008" style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a></i>]</span></sup> India is a founding member and long time supporter of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations" title="United Nations">United Nations</a>, with over 55,000 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Armed_Forces" title="Indian Armed Forces">Indian military</a> and police personnel having served in thirty-five UN peace keeping operations deployed across four continents.<sup id="_ref-UN_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-UN" title="">[55]</a></sup> Despite criticism and military sanctions, India has consistently refused to sign the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comprehensive_Nuclear-Test-Ban_Treaty" title="Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty">CTBT</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Non-Proliferation_Treaty" title="Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty">NPT</a>, preferring instead to maintain sovereignty over its nuclear program. Recent overtures by the Indian government have strengthened relations with the United States, China, and Pakistan. In the economic sphere, India has close relationships with other developing nations in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_America" title="South America">South America</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia" title="Asia">Asia</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa" title="Africa">Africa</a>.</p> <p>India maintains the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_size_of_armed_forces" title="List of countries by size of armed forces">third largest military force in the world</a>, which consists of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Army" title="Indian Army">Indian Army</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Navy" title="Indian Navy">Navy</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Air_Force" title="Indian Air Force">Air Force</a>.<sup id="_ref-CIA_4" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-CIA" title="">[8]</a></sup> Auxiliary forces such as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramilitary_forces_of_India" title="Paramilitary forces of India">Paramilitary Forces</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Coast_Guard" title="Indian Coast Guard">Coast Guard</a>, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Forces_Command" title="Strategic Forces Command">Strategic Forces Command</a> also come under the military's purview. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_India" title="President of India">President of India</a> is the supreme commander of the Indian armed forces. India became a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_with_nuclear_weapons" title="List of states with nuclear weapons">nuclear power</a> in 1974 after conducting an initial nuclear test, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiling_Buddha" title="Smiling Buddha">Operation Smiling Buddha</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokhran-II" title="Pokhran-II">Further underground testing</a> in 1998 led to international military sanctions against India, which were gradually withdrawn after September 2001. India maintains a "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_first_use" title="No first use">no first use</a>" nuclear policy<sup id="_ref-nuclear_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-nuclear" title="">[56]</a></sup> and has a "strong nuclear non-proliferation record" according to the White House<sup id="_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-29" title="">[57]</a></sup>, despite not being signatory to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Non-Proliferation_Treaty" title="Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty">Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty</a>.</p> <p><a name="Subdivisions" id="Subdivisions"></a></p> <h2><span class="mw-headline">Subdivisions</span></h2> <dl><dd> <div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle"><i>Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subdivisions_of_India" title="Subdivisions of India">Subdivisions of India</a></i></div> </dd></dl> <p>India is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_republic" title="Federal republic">federal republic</a> of twenty-eight <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_%28country_subdivision%29" title="State (country subdivision)">states</a> and seven <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Territory" title="Union Territory">Union Territories</a>.<sup id="_ref-LOC_PROFILE_1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-LOC_PROFILE" title="">[49]</a></sup> All states, the union territory of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puducherry" title="Puducherry">Puducherry</a>, and the National Capital Territory of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi" title="Delhi">Delhi</a> have elected governments. The other five union territories have centrally appointed administrators and hence are under direct rule of the President. In 1956, under the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_Reorganisation_Act" title="States Reorganisation Act">States Reorganisation Act</a>, states were formed on linguistic basis.<sup id="_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-30" title="">[58]</a></sup> Since then this structure has remained largely unchanged. Each state or union territory is divided into basic units of government and administration called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Districts_of_India" title="Districts of India">districts</a>. There are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_districts_of_India" title="List of districts of India">nearly 600 districts</a> in India.<sup id="_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-31" title="">[59]</a></sup> The districts in turn are further divided into <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehsil" title="Tehsil">tehsils</a></i> and eventually into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Village" title="Village">villages</a>.</p> <div class="thumb tright"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width: 182px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:India-states-numbered.svg" class="image" title="Administrative divisions of India, including 28 states and 7 union territories."><img alt="Administrative divisions of India, including 28 states and 7 union territories." src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/India-states-numbered.svg/180px-India-states-numbered.svg.png" class="thumbimage" border="0" height="211" width="180" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:India-states-numbered.svg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_and_territories_of_India" title="States and territories of India">Administrative divisions of India</a>, including 28 states and 7 union territories.</div> </div> </div> <p><b>States:</b></p> <table> <tbody><tr> <td> <ol><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andhra_Pradesh" title="Andhra Pradesh">Andhra Pradesh</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arunachal_Pradesh" title="Arunachal Pradesh">Arunachal Pradesh</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assam" title="Assam">Assam</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bihar" title="Bihar">Bihar</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhattisgarh" title="Chhattisgarh">Chhattisgarh</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa" title="Goa">Goa</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gujarat" title="Gujarat">Gujarat</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haryana" title="Haryana">Haryana</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himachal_Pradesh" title="Himachal Pradesh">Himachal Pradesh</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jammu_and_Kashmir" title="Jammu and Kashmir">Jammu and Kashmir</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jharkhand" title="Jharkhand">Jharkhand</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnataka" title="Karnataka">Karnataka</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala" title="Kerala">Kerala</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhya_Pradesh" title="Madhya Pradesh">Madhya Pradesh</a></li></ol> </td> <td> <ol start="15"><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharashtra" title="Maharashtra">Maharashtra</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manipur" title="Manipur">Manipur</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meghalaya" title="Meghalaya">Meghalaya</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizoram" title="Mizoram">Mizoram</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagaland" title="Nagaland">Nagaland</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orissa" title="Orissa">Orissa</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punjab_%28India%29" title="Punjab (India)">Punjab</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajasthan" title="Rajasthan">Rajasthan</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikkim" title="Sikkim">Sikkim</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Nadu" title="Tamil Nadu">Tamil Nadu</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripura" title="Tripura">Tripura</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uttar_Pradesh" title="Uttar Pradesh">Uttar Pradesh</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uttarakhand" title="Uttarakhand">Uttarakhand</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bengal" title="West Bengal">West Bengal</a></li></ol> </td> <td> <p><b>Union Territories:</b></p> <ol type="A"><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andaman_and_Nicobar_Islands" title="Andaman and Nicobar Islands">Andaman and Nicobar Islands</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandigarh" title="Chandigarh">Chandigarh</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dadra_and_Nagar_Haveli" title="Dadra and Nagar Haveli">Dadra and Nagar Haveli</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daman_and_Diu" title="Daman and Diu">Daman and Diu</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakshadweep" title="Lakshadweep">Lakshadweep</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi" title="Delhi">National Capital Territory of Delhi</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puducherry" title="Puducherry">Puducherry</a></li></ol> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p><b>Major Cities</b>:<sup id="_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-32" title="">[60]</a></sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore" title="Bangalore">Bangalore</a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai" title="Chennai">Chennai</a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi" title="Delhi">Delhi</a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyderabad%2C_India" title="Hyderabad, India">Hyderabad</a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkata" title="Kolkata">Kolkata</a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai" title="Mumbai">Mumbai</a></p> <p><a name="Geography" id="Geography"></a></p> <h2><span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h2> <dl><dd> <div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle"><i>Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_India" title="Geography of India">Geography of India</a></i></div> </dd><dd><span class="boilerplate seealso"><i>See also: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geological_history_of_India" title="Geological history of India">Geological history of India</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_India" title="Climate of India">Climate of India</a></i></span></dd></dl> <div class="thumb tright"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width: 182px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:India_Geographic_Map.jpg" class="image" title="Topographic map of India."><img alt="Topographic map of India." src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7a/India_Geographic_Map.jpg/180px-India_Geographic_Map.jpg" class="thumbimage" border="0" height="174" width="180" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:India_Geographic_Map.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> Topographic map of India.</div> </div> </div> <p>India, the major portion of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_subcontinent" title="Indian subcontinent">Indian subcontinent</a>, sits atop the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Plate" title="Indian Plate">Indian tectonic plate</a>, a minor plate within the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Australian_Plate" title="Indo-Australian Plate">Indo-Australian Plate</a>.<sup id="_ref-ali2005-p170-171_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-ali2005-p170-171" title="">[61]</a></sup></p> <p>India's defining geological processes commenced seventy-five million years ago, when the Indian subcontinent, then part of the southern supercontinent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondwana" title="Gondwana">Gondwana</a>, began a northeastwards <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics" title="Plate tectonics">drift</a> — lasting fifty million years — across the then unformed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Ocean" title="Indian Ocean">Indian Ocean</a>.<sup id="_ref-ali2005-p172-173_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-ali2005-p172-173" title="">[62]</a></sup> The subcontinent's subsequent collision with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Plate" title="Eurasian Plate">Eurasian Plate</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subduction" title="Subduction">subduction</a> under it, gave rise to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayas" title="Himalayas">Himalayas</a>, the planet's highest mountains, which now abut India in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_India" title="North India">north</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-East_India" title="North-East India">north-east</a>.<sup id="_ref-ali2005-p172-173_1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-ali2005-p172-173" title="">[62]</a></sup> 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,<sup id="_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-33" title="">[63]</a></sup> now forms the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Gangetic_Plain" title="Indo-Gangetic Plain">Indo-Gangetic Plain</a>.<sup id="_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-34" title="">[64]</a></sup> To the west of this plain, and cut off from it by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aravalli_Range" title="Aravalli Range">Aravalli Range</a>, lies the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thar_Desert" title="Thar Desert">Thar Desert</a>.<sup id="_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-35" title="">[65]</a></sup> The original Indian plate now survives as peninsular India, the oldest and geologically most stable part of India, and extending as far north as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satpura_Range" title="Satpura Range">Satpura</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vindhya_Range" title="Vindhya Range">Vindhya</a> ranges in central India. These parallel ranges run from the Arabian Sea coast in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gujarat" title="Gujarat">Gujarat</a> in the west to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal" title="Coal">coal</a>-rich <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chota_Nagpur_Plateau" title="Chota Nagpur Plateau">Chota Nagpur Plateau</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jharkhand" title="Jharkhand">Jharkhand</a> in the east.<sup id="_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-36" title="">[66]</a></sup> To their south, the remaining peninsular landmass, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deccan_Plateau" title="Deccan Plateau">Deccan Plateau</a>, is flanked on the left and right by the coastal ranges, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Ghats" title="Western Ghats">Western Ghats</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Ghats" title="Eastern Ghats">Eastern Ghats</a> respectively;<sup id="_ref-britan-weghats_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-britan-weghats" title="">[67]</a></sup> the plateau contains the oldest rock formations in India, some over one billion years old. Constituted in such fashion, India lies to the north of the equator between 6°44' and 35°30' north latitude<sup id="_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-37" title="">[68]</a></sup> and 68°7' and 97°25' east longitude.<sup id="_ref-yearbook_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-yearbook" title="">[69]</a></sup></p> <p>India's coast is 7,517 kilometers (4,671 mi) long; of this distance, 5,423 kilometers (3,370 mi) belong to peninsular India, and 2,094 kilometers (1,301 mi) to the Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep Islands.<sup id="_ref-sanilkumar_1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-sanilkumar" title="">[13]</a></sup> According to the Indian naval hydrographic charts, the mainland coast consists of: 43% sandy beaches, 11% rocky coast including cliffs, and 46% <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudflat" title="Mudflat">mudflats</a> or marshy coast.<sup id="_ref-sanilkumar_2" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-sanilkumar" title="">[13]</a></sup></p> <p>Major Himalayan-origin rivers that substantially flow through India include the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges" title="Ganges">Ganges</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmaputra_River" title="Brahmaputra River">Brahmaputra</a>, both of which drain into the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Bengal" title="Bay of Bengal">Bay of Bengal</a>.<sup id="_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-38" title="">[70]</a></sup> Important tributaries of the Ganges include the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamuna" title="Yamuna">Yamuna</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosi_River" title="Kosi River">Kosi</a>, nicknamed "Bihar's Sorrow," whose extremely low gradient causes disastrous floods every year. Major peninsular rivers — whose steeper gradients prevent their waters from flooding — include the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godavari_River" title="Godavari River">Godavari</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahanadi_River" title="Mahanadi River">Mahanadi</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaveri_River" title="Kaveri River">Kaveri</a>, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna_River" title="Krishna River">Krishna</a>, which also drain into the Bay of Bengal,<sup id="_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-39" title="">[71]</a></sup> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narmada_River" title="Narmada River">Narmada</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapti_River" title="Tapti River">Tapti</a>, which drain into the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_Sea" title="Arabian Sea">Arabian Sea</a>.<sup id="_ref-40" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-40" title="">[72]</a></sup> Among notable coastal features of India are the marshy <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rann_of_Kutch" title="Rann of Kutch">Rann of Kutch</a> in western India, and the alluvial <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundarbans" title="Sundarbans">Sundarbans</a> delta, which India shares with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh" title="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</a>.<sup id="_ref-41" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-41" title="">[73]</a></sup> India has two archipelagos: the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakshadweep" title="Lakshadweep">Lakshadweep</a>, coral atolls off India's south-western coast, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andaman_and_Nicobar_Islands" title="Andaman and Nicobar Islands">Andaman and Nicobar Islands</a>, a volcanic chain in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andaman_Sea" title="Andaman Sea">Andaman Sea</a>.<sup id="_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-42" title="">[74]</a></sup></p> <p>India's climate is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert, both of which drive the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsoon" title="Monsoon">monsoons</a>.<sup id="_ref-chang1967_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-chang1967" title="">[75]</a></sup> The Himalayas prevent cold Central Asian katabatic winds from blowing in, keeping the bulk of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations at similar <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latitude" title="Latitude">latitudes</a>.<sup id="_ref-Posey_1994_118_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Posey_1994_118" title="">[76]</a></sup> The Thar Desert plays a crucial role in attracting the moisture-laden southwest summer monsoon winds that, between June and October, provide the majority of India's rainfall.<sup id="_ref-chang1967_1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-chang1967" title="">[75]</a></sup> Four major climatic groupings predominate in India: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_India#Tropical_wet" title="Climate of India">tropical wet</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_India#Tropical_dry" title="Climate of India">tropical dry</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_India#Subtropical_humid" title="Climate of India">subtropical humid</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_India#Montane" title="Climate of India">montane</a>.<sup id="_ref-Heitzman_Worden_1996_97_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Heitzman_Worden_1996_97" title="">[77]</a></sup></p> <p><a name="Flora_and_fauna" id="Flora_and_fauna"></a></p> <h2><span class="mw-headline">Flora and fauna</span></h2> <dl><dd> <div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle"><i>Main articles: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora_of_India" title="Flora of India">Flora of India</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauna_of_India" title="Fauna of India">Fauna of India</a></i></div> </dd></dl> <div class="thumb tright"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width: 182px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Trachypithecus-geei-cropped.jpg" class="image" title="Now among the world's rarest monkeys, the golden langur typifies the precarious survival of much of India's megafauna."><img alt="Now among the world's rarest monkeys, the golden langur typifies the precarious survival of much of India's megafauna." src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Trachypithecus-geei-cropped.jpg/180px-Trachypithecus-geei-cropped.jpg" class="thumbimage" border="0" height="182" width="180" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Trachypithecus-geei-cropped.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> Now among the world's rarest monkeys, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gee%27s_Golden_Langur" title="Gee's Golden Langur">golden langur</a> typifies the precarious survival of much of India's megafauna.</div> </div> </div> <p>India, which lies within the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indomalaya_ecozone" title="Indomalaya ecozone">Indomalaya ecozone</a>, displays significant <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity" title="Biodiversity">biodiversity</a>. One of seventeen <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megadiverse_countries" title="Megadiverse countries">megadiverse countries</a>, it is home to 7.6% of all <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammal" title="Mammal">mammalian</a>, 12.6% of all <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird" title="Bird">avian</a>, 6.2% of all <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reptile" title="Reptile">reptilian</a>, 4.4% of all <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphibian" title="Amphibian">amphibian</a>, 11.7% of all <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish" title="Fish">fish</a>, and 6.0% of all <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowering_plant" title="Flowering plant">flowering plant</a> species.<sup id="_ref-Biodiversity_Profile_of_India_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Biodiversity_Profile_of_India" title="">[78]</a></sup> Many <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecoregions_in_India" title="Ecoregions in India">ecoregions</a>, such as the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shola" title="Shola">shola</a></i> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Western_Ghats_montane_rain_forests" title="South Western Ghats montane rain forests">forests</a>, exhibit extremely high rates of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endemism" title="Endemism">endemism</a>; overall, 33% of Indian plant species are endemic.<sup id="_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-43" title="">[79]</a></sup><sup id="_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-44" title="">[80]</a></sup> India's forest cover ranges from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_and_subtropical_moist_broadleaf_forests" title="Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests">tropical rainforest</a> of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andaman_Islands" title="Andaman Islands">Andaman Islands</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Ghats" title="Western Ghats">Western Ghats</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-East_India" title="North-East India">North-East India</a> to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperate_coniferous_forest" title="Temperate coniferous forest">coniferous forest</a> of the Himalaya. Between these extremes lie the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sal" title="Sal">sal</a>-dominated moist deciduous forest of eastern India; the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teak" title="Teak">teak</a>-dominated dry deciduous forest of central and southern India; and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_nilotica" title="Acacia nilotica">babul</a>-dominated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deserts_and_xeric_shrublands" title="Deserts and xeric shrublands">thorn forest</a> of the central Deccan and western Gangetic plain.<sup id="_ref-tritsch_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-tritsch" title="">[81]</a></sup> Important Indian trees include the medicinal <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neem" title="Neem">neem</a>, widely used in rural Indian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbalism" title="Herbalism">herbal</a> remedies. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_fig" title="Sacred fig">pipal</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficus" title="Ficus">fig</a> tree, shown on the seals of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohenjo-daro" title="Mohenjo-daro">Mohenjo-daro</a>, shaded <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha" title="Gautama Buddha">Gautama Buddha</a> as he sought enlightenment.</p> <p>Many Indian species are descendants of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxon" title="Taxon">taxa</a> originating in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondwana" title="Gondwana">Gondwana</a>, to which India originally belonged. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Plate" title="Indian Plate">Peninsular India's</a> subsequent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics" title="Plate tectonics">movement</a> towards, and collision with, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurasia" title="Laurasia">Laurasian</a> landmass set off a mass exchange of species. However, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deccan_Traps" title="Deccan Traps">volcanism</a> and climatic changes 20 million years ago caused the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction" title="Extinction">extinction</a> of many endemic Indian forms.<sup id="_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-45" title="">[82]</a></sup> Soon thereafter, mammals entered India from Asia through two <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoogeography" title="Zoogeography">zoogeographical</a> passes on either side of the emerging Himalaya.<sup id="_ref-tritsch_1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-tritsch" title="">[81]</a></sup> Consequently, among Indian species, only 12.6% of mammals and 4.5% of birds are endemic, contrasting with 45.8% of reptiles and 55.8% of amphibians.<sup id="_ref-Biodiversity_Profile_of_India_1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Biodiversity_Profile_of_India" title="">[78]</a></sup> Notable endemics are the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilgiri_Langur" title="Nilgiri Langur">Nilgiri leaf monkey</a> and the brown and carmine <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bufo_beddomii" title="Bufo beddomii">Beddome's toad</a> of the Western Ghats. India contains 172, or 2.9%, of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Conservation_Union" title="World Conservation Union">IUCN</a>-designated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_endangered_species_in_India" title="List of endangered species in India">threatened species</a>.<sup id="_ref-46" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-46" title="">[83]</a></sup> These include the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiatic_Lion" title="Asiatic Lion">Asiatic Lion</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_Tiger" title="Bengal Tiger">Bengal Tiger</a>, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_White-rumped_Vulture" title="Indian White-rumped Vulture">Indian white-rumped vulture</a>, which suffered a near-extinction from ingesting the carrion of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diclofenac" title="Diclofenac">diclofenac</a>-treated cattle.</p> <p>In recent decades, human encroachment has posed a threat to India's wildlife; in response, the system of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_parks_of_India" title="National parks of India">national parks</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_areas_of_India" title="Protected areas of India">protected areas</a>, first established in 1935, was substantially expanded. In 1972, India enacted the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_Protection_Act_of_1972" title="Wildlife Protection Act of 1972">Wildlife Protection Act</a><sup id="_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-47" title="">[84]</a></sup> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Tiger" title="Project Tiger">Project Tiger</a> to safeguard crucial habitat; in addition, the Forest Conservation Act<sup id="_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-48" title="">[85]</a></sup> was enacted in 1980. Along with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_sanctuaries_of_India" title="Wildlife sanctuaries of India">more than five hundred wildlife sanctuaries</a>, India hosts <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosphere_reserves_of_India" title="Biosphere reserves of India">thirteen biosphere reserves</a>,<sup id="_ref-49" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-49" title="">[86]</a></sup> four of which are part of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Network_of_Biosphere_Reserves" title="World Network of Biosphere Reserves">World Network of Biosphere Reserves</a>; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ramsar_Sites_in_India" title="List of Ramsar Sites in India">twenty-five wetlands</a> are registered under the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramsar_Convention" title="Ramsar Convention">Ramsar Convention</a>.<sup id="_ref-Indian_Ramsar_Sites_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Indian_Ramsar_Sites" title="">[87]</a></sup></p> <p><a name="Economy" id="Economy"></a></p> <h2><span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2> <dl><dd> <div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle"><i>Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_India" title="Economy of India">Economy of India</a></i></div> </dd></dl> <div class="thumb tright"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width: 182px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:BSE.jpg" class="image" title="The Bombay Stock Exchange, in Mumbai, is Asia's oldest and India's largest stock exchange."><img alt="The Bombay Stock Exchange, in Mumbai, is Asia's oldest and India's largest stock exchange." src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d5/BSE.jpg/180px-BSE.jpg" class="thumbimage" border="0" height="240" width="180" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:BSE.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombay_Stock_Exchange" title="Bombay Stock Exchange">Bombay Stock Exchange</a>, in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai" title="Mumbai">Mumbai</a>, is Asia's oldest and India's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_capitalization" title="Market capitalization">largest</a> stock exchange.</div> </div> </div> <p>For most of its post-independence history, India adhered to a quasi-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism" title="Socialism">socialist</a> approach with strict government control over <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_sector" title="Private sector">private sector</a> participation, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_trade" title="International trade">foreign trade</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_direct_investment" title="Foreign direct investment">foreign direct investment</a>. However, since 1991, India has gradually opened up its markets through <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalization" title="Liberalization">economic reforms</a> and reduced government controls on foreign trade and investment.<sup id="_ref-Montek_1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Montek" title="">[31]</a></sup> Foreign exchange reserves have risen from US$5.8 billion in March 1991 to US$275 billion in 2007,<sup id="_ref-rbiforexjune07_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-rbiforexjune07" title="">[88]</a></sup> while federal and state budget deficits have decreased.<sup id="_ref-Revenue_surge_boosts_fiscal_health_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Revenue_surge_boosts_fiscal_health" title="">[89]</a></sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privatization" title="Privatization">Privatization</a> of publicly-owned companies and the opening of certain sectors to private and foreign participation has continued amid political debate.<sup id="_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-50" title="">[90]</a></sup> With a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product" title="Gross domestic product">GDP</a> growth rate of 9.4% in 2006-07, the Indian economy is among the fastest growing in the world.<sup id="_ref-51" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-51" title="">[91]</a></sup> India's GDP in terms of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_dollar" title="United States dollar">USD</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_rate" title="Exchange rate">exchange-rate</a> is US$ 778.7 billion. When measured in terms of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity" title="Purchasing power parity">purchasing power parity</a> (PPP), India has the world's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29" title="List of countries by GDP (PPP)">third largest</a> GDP at US$4.164 trillion. India's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per_capita_income" title="Per capita income">per capita income</a> (nominal) is US$ 707, while its per capita (PPP) is US$ 3600.</p> <p>Although the Indian economy has grown steadily over the last two decades; its growth has been uneven when comparing different social groups, economic groups, geographic regions, and rural and urban areas.<sup id="_ref-World_bank_2006_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-World_bank_2006" title="">[92]</a></sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality" title="List of countries by income equality">Income inequality</a> in India is relatively small (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient" title="Gini coefficient">Gini coefficient</a>: 32.5 in year 1999–2000),<sup id="_ref-Gini_1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Gini" title="">[10]</a></sup> though it has been increasing of late. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distribution_of_wealth" title="Distribution of wealth">Wealth distribution</a> in India is fairly uneven, with the top 10% of income groups earning 33% of the income.<sup id="_ref-incomedist_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-incomedist" title="">[93]</a></sup> Despite significant economic progress, a quarter of the nation's population earns less than the government-specified <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_threshold" title="Poverty threshold">poverty threshold</a> of $0.40 per day. In 2004–2005, 27.5% of the population was living below the poverty line.<sup id="_ref-52" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-52" title="">[94]</a></sup></p> <p>India has the world's second largest<sup id="_ref-53" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-53" title="">[95]</a></sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_in_India" title="Labour in India">labour force</a>, with 509.3 million people, 60% of whom are employed in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_India" title="Agriculture in India">agriculture</a> and related industries; 28% in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_%28economics%29" title="Service (economics)">services</a> and related industries; and 12% in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry" title="Industry">industry</a>.<sup id="_ref-CIA_5" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-CIA" title="">[8]</a></sup> Major agricultural crops include rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, and potatoes. The agricultural sector accounts for 28% of GDP; the service and industrial sectors make up 54% and 18% respectively. Major industries include automobiles, cement, chemicals, consumer electronics, food processing, machinery, mining, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, steel, transportation equipment, and textiles.<sup id="_ref-CIA_6" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-CIA" title="">[8]</a></sup></p> <p>In 2006, estimated exports stood at US$112 billion and imports were around US$187.9 billion. Textiles, jewellery, engineering goods and software are major export commodities. Crude oil, machineries, fertilizers, and chemicals are major imports. India's most important trading partners are the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union" title="European Union">European Union</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_China" title="People's Republic of China">China</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Arab_Emirates" title="United Arab Emirates">United Arab Emirates</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore" title="Singapore">Singapore</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia" title="Australia">Australia</a>.<sup id="_ref-CIA_7" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-CIA" title="">[8]</a></sup> More recently, India has capitalised on its large pool of educated, English-speaking people, and trained professionals to become an important <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_process_outsourcing_in_India" title="Business process outsourcing in India">outsourcing</a> destination for multinational corporations and a popular destination for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tourism" title="Medical tourism">medical tourism</a>.<sup id="_ref-BMJ_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-BMJ" title="">[96]</a></sup> India has also become a major exporter of software as well as financial, research, and technological services. Its natural resources include arable land, bauxite, chromite, coal, diamonds, iron ore, limestone, manganese, mica, natural gas, petroleum, and titanium ore.<sup id="_ref-LOC_PROFILE_2" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-LOC_PROFILE" title="">[49]</a></sup></p> <p><a name="Demographics" id="Demographics"></a></p> <h2><span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2> <dl><dd> <div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle"><i>Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_India" title="Demographics of India">Demographics of India</a></i></div> </dd><dd><span class="boilerplate seealso"><i>See also: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_India" title="Religion in India">Religion in India</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_India" title="Languages of India">Languages of India</a></i></span></dd></dl> <div class="thumb tright"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width: 182px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:India_population_density_map_en.svg" class="image" title="Population density map of India."><img alt="Population density map of India." src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/India_population_density_map_en.svg/180px-India_population_density_map_en.svg.png" class="thumbimage" border="0" height="203" width="180" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:India_population_density_map_en.svg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> Population density map of India.</div> </div> </div> <p>With an estimated population of 1.12 billion,<sup id="_ref-CIA_8" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-CIA" title="">[8]</a></sup> India is the world's second most populous country. Almost 70% of Indians reside in rural areas, although in recent decades migration to larger cities has led to a dramatic increase in the country's urban population. India's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_of_Indian_cities" title="Status of Indian cities">largest</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_populous_metropolitan_areas_in_India" title="List of most populous metropolitan areas in India">cities</a> are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai" title="Mumbai">Mumbai</a> (formerly Bombay), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi" title="Delhi">Delhi</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkata" title="Kolkata">Kolkata</a> (formerly Calcutta), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai" title="Chennai">Chennai</a> (formerly Madras), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore" title="Bangalore">Bangalore</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyderabad%2C_India" title="Hyderabad, India">Hyderabad</a>.<sup id="_ref-LOC_PROFILE_3" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-LOC_PROFILE" title="">[49]</a></sup></p> <p>India is the second most culturally, linguistically and genetically diverse geographical entity after the African continent.<sup id="_ref-LOC_PROFILE_4" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-LOC_PROFILE" title="">[49]</a></sup> India is home to two major <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_India" title="Languages of India">linguistic families</a>: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Aryan_languages" title="Indo-Aryan languages">Indo-Aryan</a> (spoken by about 74% of the population) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dravidian_languages" title="Dravidian languages">Dravidian</a> (spoken by about 24%). Other languages spoken in India come from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austro-Asiatic_languages" title="Austro-Asiatic languages">Austro-Asiatic</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibeto-Burman_languages" title="Tibeto-Burman languages">Tibeto-Burman</a> linguistic families. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi" title="Hindi">Hindi</a>, with the largest number of speakers,<sup id="_ref-54" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-54" title="">[97]</a></sup> is the official language of India.<sup id="_ref-55" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-55" title="">[98]</a></sup> English, which is extensively used in business and administration, has the status of a 'subsidiary official language'.<sup id="_ref-English-subsidiary_1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-English-subsidiary" title="">[6]</a></sup> The constitution also recognises in particular <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_languages_of_India" title="Official languages of India">21 other languages</a> that are either abundantly spoken or have classical status. The number of dialects in India is as high as 1,652.<sup id="_ref-Manorama_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Manorama" title="">[99]</a></sup></p> <p>Over 800 million Indians (80.5%) are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism">Hindu</a>. Other religious groups include <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam" title="Islam">Muslims</a> (13.4%), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity" title="Christianity">Christians</a> (2.3%), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhism" title="Sikhism">Sikhs</a> (1.9%), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism" title="Buddhism">Buddhists</a> (0.8%), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism" title="Jainism">Jains</a> (0.4%), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism" title="Judaism">Jews</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsi" title="Parsi">Zoroastrians</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%27%C3%AD_Faith" title="Bahá'í Faith">Bahá'ís</a> and others.<sup id="_ref-CensusRel_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-CensusRel" title="">[100]</a></sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adivasi" title="Adivasi">Tribals</a> constitute 8.1% of the population.<sup id="_ref-Tribal_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Tribal" title="">[101]</a></sup></p> <p>India's literacy rate is 64.8% (53.7% for females and 75.3% for males).<sup id="_ref-CIA_9" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-CIA" title="">[8]</a></sup> The state of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala" title="Kerala">Kerala</a> has the highest literacy rate (91%);<sup id="_ref-56" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-56" title="">[102]</a></sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bihar" title="Bihar">Bihar</a> has the lowest (47%).<sup id="_ref-57" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-57" title="">[103]</a></sup> The national <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_ratio" title="Sex ratio">gender ratio</a> is 944 females per 1,000 males. India's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_pyramid" title="Population pyramid">median age</a> is 24.9, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_growth" title="Population growth">population growth rate</a> of 1.38% per annum; there are 22.01 births per 1,000 people per year.<sup id="_ref-CIA_10" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-CIA" title="">[8]</a></sup></p> <p><a name="Culture" id="Culture"></a></p> <h2><span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2> <dl><dd> <div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle"><i>Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_India" title="Culture of India">Culture of India</a></i></div> </dd></dl> <div class="thumb tright"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width: 182px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Taj_Mahal_in_March_2004.jpg" class="image" title="The Taj Mahal in Agra was built by Shah Jahan as memorial to wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site considered to be of "outstanding universal value"."><img alt="The Taj Mahal in Agra was built by Shah Jahan as memorial to wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site considered to be of "outstanding universal value"." src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Taj_Mahal_in_March_2004.jpg/180px-Taj_Mahal_in_March_2004.jpg" class="thumbimage" border="0" height="148" width="180" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Taj_Mahal_in_March_2004.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal" title="Taj Mahal">Taj Mahal</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agra" title="Agra">Agra</a> was built by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shah_Jahan" title="Shah Jahan">Shah Jahan</a> as memorial to wife <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumtaz_Mahal" title="Mumtaz Mahal">Mumtaz Mahal</a>. It is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCO" title="UNESCO">UNESCO</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_Site" title="World Heritage Site">World Heritage Site</a> considered to be of "outstanding universal value".<sup id="_ref-UNESCO_TM_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-UNESCO_TM" title="">[104]</a></sup></div> </div> </div> <p>India's culture is marked by a high degree of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncretism" title="Syncretism">syncretism</a><sup id="_ref-58" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-58" title="">[105]</a></sup> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_pluralism" title="Cultural pluralism">cultural pluralism</a>.<sup id="_ref-59" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-59" title="">[106]</a></sup> It has managed to preserve established traditions while absorbing new customs, traditions, and ideas from invaders and immigrants. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multicultural" class="mw-redirect" title="Multicultural">Multicultural</a> concerns have long informed India’s history and traditions, constitution and political arrangements.<sup id="_ref-60" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-60" title="">[107]</a></sup></p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_architecture" title="Indian architecture">Indian architecture</a>, including notable monuments, such as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal" title="Taj Mahal">Taj Mahal</a> and other examples of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal_architecture" title="Mughal architecture">Mughal architecture</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Indian_architecture" class="mw-redirect" title="South Indian architecture">South Indian architecture</a>, is the result of traditions that combined elements from several parts of the country and abroad. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_vernacular_architecture" title="Indian vernacular architecture">Vernacular architecture</a> also displays notable regional variation.</p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_India" title="Music of India">Indian music</a> covers a wide range of traditions and regional styles. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_classical_music" title="Indian classical music">Classical music</a> is split mainly between the North Indian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindustani_classical_music" title="Hindustani classical music">Hindustani</a> and South Indian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnatic_music" title="Carnatic music">Carnatic</a> traditions. Highly regionalised forms of popular music include <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmi" title="Filmi">filmi</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_folk_music" title="Indian folk music">folk music</a>; the syncretic tradition of the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baul" title="Baul">bauls</a></i> is a well-known form of the latter.</p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_in_India" title="Dance in India">Indian dance</a> too has diverse <i>folk</i> and <i>classical</i> forms. Among the well-known <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_folk_dances" title="Indian folk dances">folk dances</a> are the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhangra" title="Bhangra">bhangra</a></i> of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punjab_region" title="Punjab region">Punjab</a>, the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bihu" title="Bihu">bihu</a></i> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assam" title="Assam">Assam</a>, the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chau" class="mw-redirect" title="Chau">chhau</a></i> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bihar" title="Bihar">Bihar</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orissa" title="Orissa">Orissa</a> and the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghoomar" title="Ghoomar">ghoomar</a></i> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajasthan" title="Rajasthan">Rajasthan</a>. Eight dance forms, many with narrative forms and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_mythology" title="Hindu mythology">mythological</a> elements, have been accorded <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Indian_dance" title="Classical Indian dance">classical dance status</a> by India's <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangeet_Natak_Akademi" title="Sangeet Natak Akademi">National Academy of Music, Dance, and Drama</a></i>. These are: <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharatanatyam" title="Bharatanatyam">bharatanatyam</a></i> of the state of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Nadu" title="Tamil Nadu">Tamil Nadu</a>, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathak" title="Kathak">kathak</a></i> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uttar_Pradesh" title="Uttar Pradesh">Uttar Pradesh</a>, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathakali" title="Kathakali">kathakali</a></i> and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohiniyattam" title="Mohiniyattam">mohiniyattam</a></i> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala" title="Kerala">Kerala</a>, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuchipudi" title="Kuchipudi">kuchipudi</a></i> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andhra_Pradesh" title="Andhra Pradesh">Andhra Pradesh</a>, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manipuri_dance" title="Manipuri dance">manipuri</a></i> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manipur" title="Manipur">Manipur</a>, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odissi" title="Odissi">odissi</a></i> of the state of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orissa" title="Orissa">Orissa</a> and the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sattriya_dance" title="Sattriya dance">sattriya</a></i> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assam" title="Assam">Assam</a>.<sup id="_ref-all3_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-all3" title="">[108]</a></sup></p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_in_India" title="Theatre in India">Theatre in India</a> often incorporates music, dance, and improvised or written dialogue.<sup id="_ref-61" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-61" title="">[109]</a></sup> Often based on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_mythology" title="Hindu mythology">Hindu mythology</a>, but also borrowing from medieval romances, and news of social and political events, Indian theatre includes the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhavai" title="Bhavai">bhavai</a></i> of state of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gujarat" title="Gujarat">Gujarat</a>, the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jatra_%28Bengal%29" title="Jatra (Bengal)">jatra</a></i> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bengal" title="West Bengal">West Bengal</a>, the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautanki" title="Nautanki">nautanki</a></i> and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramlila" title="Ramlila">ramlila</a></i> of North India, the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamasha" title="Tamasha">tamasha</a></i> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharashtra" title="Maharashtra">Maharashtra</a>, the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terukkuttu" title="Terukkuttu">terukkuttu</a></i> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Nadu" title="Tamil Nadu">Tamil Nadu</a>, and the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakshagana" title="Yakshagana">yakshagana</a></i> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnataka" title="Karnataka">Karnataka</a>.<sup id="_ref-62" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-62" title="">[110]</a></sup></p> <div class="thumb tleft"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width: 182px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tagore3.jpg" class="image" title="Rabindranath Tagore - Asia's first Nobel laureate and composer of India's national anthem, played a major role in reviving several art forms such as the Manipuri."><img alt="Rabindranath Tagore - Asia's first Nobel laureate and composer of India's national anthem, played a major role in reviving several art forms such as the Manipuri." src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Tagore3.jpg/180px-Tagore3.jpg" class="thumbimage" border="0" height="242" width="180" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tagore3.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore" title="Rabindranath Tagore">Rabindranath Tagore</a> - Asia's first<sup id="_ref-63" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-63" title="">[111]</a></sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_laureates#Literature" title="List of Nobel laureates">Nobel laureate</a><sup id="_ref-64" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-64" title="">[112]</a></sup> and composer of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jana_Gana_Mana" title="Jana Gana Mana">India's national anthem</a>, played a major role in reviving several art forms such as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manipuri_dance" title="Manipuri dance">Manipuri</a>.<sup id="_ref-65" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-65" title="">[113]</a></sup></div> </div> </div> <p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_India" title="Cinema of India">Indian film industry</a> is the largest in the world.<sup id="_ref-BBC_1154019_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-BBC_1154019" title="">[114]</a></sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollywood" title="Bollywood">Bollywood</a>, based in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai" title="Mumbai">Mumbai</a>, makes commercial <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi" title="Hindi">Hindi</a> films and is the most prolific film industry in the world.<sup id="_ref-66" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-66" title="">[115]</a></sup> Established traditions also exist in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengali_cinema" title="Bengali cinema">Bengali</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Karnataka" title="Cinema of Karnataka">Kannada</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayalam_cinema" title="Malayalam cinema">Malayalam</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathi_cinema" title="Marathi cinema">Marathi</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_cinema" title="Tamil cinema">Tamil</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tollywood" title="Tollywood">Telugu</a> language cinemas.<sup id="_ref-67" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-67" title="">[116]</a></sup></p> <p>The earliest works of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_literature" title="Indian literature">Indian literature</a> were transmitted orally and only later written down.<sup id="_ref-Sanskrit_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Sanskrit" title="">[117]</a></sup> These included works of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_literature" title="Sanskrit literature">Sanskrit literature</a> – such as the early <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedas" title="Vedas">Vedas</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epics" class="mw-redirect" title="Epics">epics</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81bh%C4%81rata" title="Mahābhārata">Mahābhārata</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramayana" title="Ramayana">Ramayana</a>, the drama <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Recognition_of_%C5%9Aakuntal%C4%81" title="The Recognition of Śakuntalā"><i>Abhijñānaśākuntalam</i> (The Recognition of Śakuntalā)</a>, and poetry such as the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_Literature#Classical_Poetry" class="mw-redirect" title="Sanskrit Literature">Mahākāvya</a></i><sup id="_ref-68" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-68" title="">[118]</a></sup> – and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_language" title="Tamil language">Tamil language</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangam_literature" title="Sangam literature"><i>Sangam</i> literature</a>.<sup id="_ref-Tamil_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Tamil" title="">[119]</a></sup> Among Indian writers of the modern era active in Indian languages or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_English_literature" title="Indian English literature">English</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore" title="Rabindranath Tagore">Rabindranath Tagore</a> won the Nobel Prize in 1913.</p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_cuisine" title="Indian cuisine">Indian cuisine</a> is characterized by a wide variety of regional styles and sophisticated use of herbs and spices. The staple foods in the region are rice (especially in the south and the east) and wheat (predominantly in the north).<sup id="_ref-Food_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Food" title="">[120]</a></sup> Spices originally native to the Indian subcontinent that are now consumed world wide include <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pepper" title="Black pepper">black pepper</a>; in contrast, hot <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chili_pepper" title="Chili pepper">chili peppers</a>, popular across India, were introduced by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_India" title="Portuguese India">Portuguese</a>.<sup id="_ref-69" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-69" title="">[121]</a></sup></p> <p>Traditional <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_dress" title="Indian dress">Indian dress</a> varies across the regions in its colours and styles and depends on various factors, including climate. Popular styles of dress include draped garments such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sari" title="Sari">sari</a> for women and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhoti" title="Dhoti">dhoti</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lungi" title="Lungi">lungi</a> for men; in addition, stitched clothes such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalwar_kameez" class="mw-redirect" title="Shalwar kameez">shalwar kameez</a> for women and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurta" title="Kurta">kurta</a>-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyjama" class="mw-redirect" title="Pyjama">pyjama</a> and European-style <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trousers" title="Trousers">trousers</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirts" class="mw-redirect" title="Shirts">shirts</a> for men, are also popular.</p> <p>Many <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_India" title="Public holidays in India">Indian festivals</a> are religious in origin, although several are celebrated irrespective of caste and creed. Some popular festivals are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali" title="Diwali">Diwali</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pongal" class="mw-redirect" title="Pongal">Pongal</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holi" title="Holi">Holi</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onam" title="Onam">Onam</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijayadashami" class="mw-redirect" title="Vijayadashami">Vijayadashami</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bihu" title="Bihu">Bihu</a><sup class="noprint Inline-Template"><span title="The material in the vicinity of this tag failed verification of its source citation(s) since January 2008" style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">not in citation given</a></i>]</span></sup>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durga_Puja" title="Durga Puja">Durga Puja</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_ul-Fitr" title="Eid ul-Fitr">Eid ul-Fitr</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakr-Id" class="mw-redirect" title="Bakr-Id">Bakr-Id</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas" title="Christmas">Christmas</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugadi" title="Ugadi">Ugadi</a><sup class="noprint Inline-Template"><span title="The material in the vicinity of this tag failed verification of its source citation(s) since January 2008" style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">not in citation given</a></i>]</span></sup>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha_Jayanti" class="mw-redirect" title="Buddha Jayanti">Buddha Jayanti</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaisakhi" title="Vaisakhi">Vaisakhi</a>.<sup id="_ref-Indobase_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Indobase" title="">[122]</a></sup> India has <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_days_in_India" title="National days in India">three national holidays</a>. Other sets of holidays, varying between nine and twelve, are officially observed in individual states. Religious practices are an integral part of everyday life and are a very public affair. Traditional Indian family values are highly respected, although urban families now prefer nuclear family system due to the socio-economic constraints imposed by traditional joint family system.</p> <p><a name="Sports" id="Sports"></a></p> <h2><span class="mw-headline">Sports</span></h2> <p>India's national sport is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_hockey" title="Field hockey">field hockey</a> though <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket" title="Cricket">cricket</a> is the most popular <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_in_India" class="mw-redirect" title="Sport in India">sport in India</a>. In some states, particularly those in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-East_India" title="North-East India">northeast</a> and the states of West Bengal, Goa, and Kerala, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_%28soccer%29" class="mw-redirect" title="Football (soccer)">football</a> (soccer) is also a popular sport.<sup id="_ref-Soccer_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#_note-Soccer" title="">[123]</a></sup> In recent times, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis" title="Tennis">tennis</a> has also gained popularity. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess" title="Chess">Chess</a>, commonly held to have <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_chess#India" title="Origins of chess">originated</a> in India, is also gaining popularity with the rise in the number of Indian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandmaster_%28chess%29" title="Grandmaster (chess)">grandmasters</a>. Traditional sports include <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabaddi" title="Kabaddi">kabaddi</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kho_kho" title="Kho kho">kho kho</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilli-danda" title="Gilli-danda">gilli-danda</a>, which are played nationwide. India is home to the age-old disciplines of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga" title="Yoga">yoga</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayurveda" title="Ayurveda">ayurveda</a> and to the ancient <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_martial_arts" title="Indian martial arts">martial arts</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalarippayattu" title="Kalarippayattu">Kalarippayattu</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varma_Kalai" title="Varma Kalai">Varma Kalai</a>.</p> <p><a name="See_also" id="See_also"></a></p> <h2><span class="mw-headline">See also</span></h2> <table id="collapsibleTable0" class="navbox collapsible expanded nowraplinks" style="margin: auto; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><tbody><tr> <th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; width: 100%;"><span style="float: right; font-weight: normal; text-align: right; width: 6em;">[]</span> <div style="float: left; width: 6em; text-align: left;"> <div class="noprint plainlinksneverexpand" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0pt; background-color: transparent; white-space: nowrap; font-weight: normal; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Indian_topics" title="Template:Indian topics"><span title="View this template" style="border: medium none ;">v</span></a> <span style="font-size: 80%;">•</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template_talk:Indian_topics" title="Template talk:Indian topics"><span style="border: medium none ; color: rgb(0, 43, 184);" title="Discussion about this template">d</span></a> <span style="font-size: 80%;">•</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Indian_topics&action=edit" class="external text" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Indian_topics&action=edit" rel="nofollow"><span style="border: medium none ; color: rgb(0, 43, 184);" title="You can edit this template. Please use the preview button before saving.">e</span></a></div> </div> <span style="font-size: 110%;"><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_India.svg" class="image" title="Flag of India"><img alt="Flag of India" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_India.svg/25px-Flag_of_India.svg.png" class="thumbborder" border="0" height="17" width="25" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_India-related_topics" title="List of India-related topics">India-related topics</a></span></th> </tr> <tr> <th style="background: rgb(221, 221, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; white-space: nowrap; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; text-align: right;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_India" title="History of India">History</a></th> <td colspan="1" style="text-align: left; width: 100%; font-size: 95%;"> <table class="navbox nowraplinks" style="border: medium none ; margin: -3px; padding: 0pt; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; font-size: 100%; text-align: left;"> <tbody><tr> <th style="background: rgb(230, 230, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; white-space: nowrap; text-align: right; width: 6em; font-weight: normal;">Overviews</th> <td style=""><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Indian_history" title="Timeline of Indian history">Timeline</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_India" title="Economic history of India">Economic</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_history_of_India" title="Linguistic history of India">Linguistic</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_maritime_history" title="Indian maritime history">Maritime</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_India" title="Military history of India">Military</a></td> </tr> <tr> <th style="background: rgb(230, 230, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; white-space: nowrap; text-align: right; width: 6em; font-weight: normal;">Pre-colonial</th> <td style="" colspan="1"> <div> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Asian_Stone_Age" title="South Asian Stone Age">Stone Age</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilization" title="Indus Valley Civilization">Indus Valley Civilization</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Aryan_migration" title="Indo-Aryan migration">Indo-Aryan migration</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedic_period" title="Vedic period">Vedic period</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahajanapadas" title="Mahajanapadas">Mahajanapadas</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magadha" title="Magadha">Magadha</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_kingdoms_of_India" title="Middle kingdoms of India">Middle kingdoms</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_empires_in_India" title="Islamic empires in India">Islamic sultanates</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoysala_Empire" title="Hoysala Empire">Hoysala</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholas" class="mw-redirect" title="Cholas">Cholas</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakatiya_Empire" class="mw-redirect" title="Kakatiya Empire">Kakatiya</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijayanagara_Empire" title="Vijayanagara Empire">Vijayanagara</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal_Empire" title="Mughal Empire">Mughals</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha_Empire" title="Maratha Empire">Marathas</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_India_Company" title="East India Company">European trade</a></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <th style="background: rgb(230, 230, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; white-space: nowrap; text-align: right; width: 6em; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_India" title="Colonial India">Colonial</a></th> <td style="" colspan="1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_East_India_Company" class="mw-redirect" title="British East India Company">East India Company</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Plassey" title="Battle of Plassey">Plassey</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Rebellion_of_1857" title="Indian Rebellion of 1857">1857 Rebellion</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Raj" title="British Raj">British Raj</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Railways#History" title="Indian Railways">Railways</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_British_India" title="Economy of British India">Economy</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Indian_Army" title="British Indian Army">Army</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamindari_system#British_era" class="mw-redirect" title="Zamindari system">Zamindari</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_renaissance" class="mw-redirect" title="Bengal renaissance">Social changes</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_India_Act_1909" title="Government of India Act 1909">Political reforms</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princely_state" title="Princely state">Princely states</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_Bengal_%281905%29" title="Partition of Bengal (1905)">Partition of Bengal</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_independence_movement" title="Indian independence movement">Independence movement</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_famine_of_1943" title="Bengal famine of 1943">1943 famine</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_in_World_War_II" title="India in World War II">World War II</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_India" title="Partition of India">Partition</a></td> </tr> <tr> <th style="background: rgb(230, 230, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; white-space: nowrap; text-align: right; width: 6em; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Republic_of_India" title="History of the Republic of India">Republic</a></th> <td style="" colspan="1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_integration_of_India" title="Political integration of India">Integration</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role_of_India_in_Non-Aligned_movement" class="mw-redirect" title="Role of India in Non-Aligned movement">Non-Aligned Movement</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-year_plans_of_India" title="Five-year plans of India">Five Year Plan</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Indian_War" title="Sino-Indian War">Sino-Indian War</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Pakistani_wars_and_conflicts" title="Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts">Indo-Pakistani wars</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Revolution_in_India" title="Green Revolution in India">Green Revolution</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Revolution_%28India%29" class="mw-redirect" title="White Revolution (India)">White Revolution</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naxalite" title="Naxalite">Naxal Insurgency</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiling_Buddha" title="Smiling Buddha">Smiling Buddha</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Space_Research_Organisation" title="Indian Space Research Organisation">Space Program</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emergency_%28India%29" title="The Emergency (India)">Emergency</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalistan_movement" title="Khalistan movement">Khalistan movement</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Peace_Keeping_Force" title="Indian Peace Keeping Force">IPKF</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_reforms_in_India" title="Economic reforms in India">Economic Reforms</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokhran-II" title="Pokhran-II">Pokhran-II</a></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <th style="background: rgb(221, 221, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; white-space: nowrap; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; text-align: right;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_India" title="Government of India">Government</a></th> <td colspan="1" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; text-align: left; width: 100%; font-size: 95%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"> <div> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_agencies" title="List of Indian agencies">Agencies</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Constitution" class="mw-redirect" title="Indian Constitution">Constitution</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_India" title="Foreign relations of India">Foreign relations</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_Rights%2C_Directive_Principles_and_Fundamental_Duties_of_India" title="Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties of India">Fundamental Rights, Principles, and Duties</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Courts_of_India" title="High Courts of India">High Courts</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_Intelligence_agencies" title="List of Indian Intelligence agencies">Intelligence</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_in_India" class="mw-redirect" title="Law in India">Law</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_India" title="Law enforcement in India">Law enforcement</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_India" class="mw-redirect" title="Military of India">Military</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_diplomatic_missions" class="mw-redirect" title="Indian diplomatic missions">Missions</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_India" title="Parliament of India">Parliament</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Indian_symbols" title="Template:Indian symbols">Symbols</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_India" title="Supreme Court of India">Supreme Court</a></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <th style="background: rgb(221, 221, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; white-space: nowrap; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; text-align: right;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_India" title="Politics of India">Politics</a></th> <td colspan="1" style="text-align: left; width: 100%; font-size: 95%;"> <div> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_India" title="Censorship in India">Censorship</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_India" title="Elections in India">Elections</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_India" title="Human rights in India">Human rights</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_nationalism" title="Indian nationalism">Nationalism</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_India" title="List of political parties in India">Political parties</a> <small>(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_National_Congress" title="Indian National Congress">Congress</a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharatiya_Janata_Party" title="Bharatiya Janata Party">BJP</a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahujan_Samaj_Party" title="Bahujan Samaj Party">BSP</a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_India" title="Communist Party of India">CPI</a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_India_%28Marxist%29" title="Communist Party of India (Marxist)">CPM</a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalist_Congress_Party" title="Nationalist Congress Party">NCP</a>)</small><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservation_in_India" title="Reservation in India">Reservations</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_political_scandals" title="Indian political scandals">Scandals</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheduled_Castes_and_Tribes" class="mw-redirect" title="Scheduled Castes and Tribes">Scheduled groups</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_secularism" class="mw-redirect" title="Indian secularism">Secularism</a></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <th style="background: rgb(221, 221, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; white-space: nowrap; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; text-align: right;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_India" title="Geography of India">Geography</a></th> <td colspan="1" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; text-align: left; width: 100%; font-size: 95%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"> <div> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_India" title="Climate of India">Climate</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climatic_regions_of_India" title="Climatic regions of India">Climatic regions</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecoregions_in_India" title="Ecoregions in India">Ecoregions</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauna_of_India" title="Fauna of India">Fauna</a> <small>and</small> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora_of_India" title="Flora of India">flora</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_India" class="mw-redirect" title="Geology of India">Geology</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_in_India" class="mw-redirect" title="List of islands in India">Islands</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mountains_in_India" title="List of mountains in India">Mountains</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rivers_in_India" class="mw-redirect" title="List of rivers in India">Rivers</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subdivisions_of_India" title="Subdivisions of India">Subdivisions</a> <small>(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_India" title="List of cities in India">Cities</a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Districts_of_India" title="Districts of India">Districts</a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regions_in_India" title="List of regions in India">Regions</a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_and_territories_of_India" title="States and territories of India">States and territories</a>)</small><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_valleys_India" class="mw-redirect" title="List of valleys India">Valleys</a></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <th style="background: rgb(221, 221, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; white-space: nowrap; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; text-align: right;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_India" title="Economy of India">Economy</a></th> <td colspan="1" style="text-align: left; width: 100%; font-size: 95%;"> <div> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_India" title="Agriculture in India">Agriculture</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_in_India" title="Communications in India">Communications</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_companies" title="List of Indian companies">Companies</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_India" title="Education in India">Education</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Stock_exchanges_of_India" title="Category:Stock exchanges of India">Exchanges</a> <small>(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombay_Stock_Exchange" title="Bombay Stock Exchange">BSE</a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Stock_Exchange_of_India" title="National Stock Exchange of India">NSE</a>)</small><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_India" title="Healthcare in India">Healthcare</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_in_India" title="Income in India">Income</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_India" title="Poverty in India">Poverty</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_India" title="Obesity in India">Obesity</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_of_living_in_India" title="Standard of living in India">Standard of living</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserve_Bank_of_India" title="Reserve Bank of India">Reserve Bank</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Rupee" class="mw-redirect" title="Indian Rupee">Rupee</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_India" title="Tourism in India">Tourism</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_in_India" title="Labour in India">Labour</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forestry_in_India" title="Forestry in India">Forestry</a> <span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishery_in_India" class="mw-redirect" title="Fishery in India">Fishery</a> <span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livestock_in_India" class="mw-redirect" title="Livestock in India">Livestock</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_in_India" class="mw-redirect" title="Transportation in India">Transport</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_policy_of_India" title="Energy policy of India">Energy</a> <small>(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_India" title="Solar power in India">Solar</a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_India" title="Wind power in India">Wind</a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_India" title="Nuclear power in India">Nuclear</a>)</small></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <th style="background: rgb(221, 221, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; white-space: nowrap; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; text-align: right;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_India" title="Culture of India">Culture</a></th> <td colspan="1" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; text-align: left; width: 100%; font-size: 95%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"> <div> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts_and_entertainment_in_India" title="Arts and entertainment in India">Arts</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_architecture" title="Indian architecture">Architecture</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_India" title="Cinema of India">Cinema</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_cuisine" title="Indian cuisine">Cuisine</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_classical_dance" class="mw-redirect" title="Indian classical dance">Dance</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_India" title="Demographics of India">Demographics</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_dress" title="Indian dress">Dress</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_folklore" class="mw-redirect" title="Indian folklore">Folklore</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holidays_in_India" class="mw-redirect" title="Holidays in India">Holidays</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_India" title="Languages of India">Languages</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_literature" title="Indian literature">Literature</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_media_in_India" title="Mass media in India">Media</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_martial_arts" title="Indian martial arts">Martial arts</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_India" title="Music of India">Music</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_India" title="Religion in India">Religion</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_in_India" class="mw-redirect" title="Sport in India">Sports</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_wine" title="Indian wine">Wine</a></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <th style="background: rgb(221, 221, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; white-space: nowrap; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; text-align: right;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_India" title="Education in India">Education</a></th> <td colspan="1" style="text-align: left; width: 100%; font-size: 95%;"> <div> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_in_India" title="Literacy in India">Literacy</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Higher_Education_%28India%29" title="Department of Higher Education (India)">Department of Higher Education</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Board_of_Secondary_Education" title="Central Board of Secondary Education">CBSE</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_for_the_Indian_School_Certificate_Examinations" title="Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations">CISCE</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarva_Shiksha_Abhiyan" title="Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan">Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Grants_Commission_%28India%29" title="University Grants Commission (India)">University Grants Commission</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_India_Council_for_Technical_Education" title="All India Council for Technical Education">AICTE</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Institutes_of_Technology" title="Indian Institutes of Technology">Institutes of Technology</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Institutes_of_Management" title="Indian Institutes of Management">Institutes of Management</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Institute_of_Science" title="Indian Institute of Science">Institutes of Science</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Education_in_India" title="Category:Education in India">more...</a></i></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="background: rgb(221, 221, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; text-align: center; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" colspan="2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:India/topics" title="Portal:India/topics">Portal</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Naresh Kadyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08419516306288297445noreply@blogger.com0