India

India (: भारत Bhārat; see also ), officially the Republic of India (: भारत गणराज्य Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a sovereign nation in. It is the country by geographical area, the  country, and the world's most populous. Bounded by the on the south, the  on the west, and the  on the east, India has a coastline of. It borders to the west;, , and  to the north-east; and  and  to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of, , and.

Home to the and a region of historic s and vast, the  was identified with its  and  wealth for much of its long history. Four major world religions,, , and  originated here, while , ,  and  arrived in the first millennium  and shaped the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by the from the early eighteenth century and colonised by the  from the mid-nineteenth century, India became a modern  in 1947 after a  that was marked by widespread use of  as a means of social protest.

India is the world's in  and the  largest economy at market exchange rates. Significant economic reforms have transformed India into one of the but it still suffers from  of  and, , and. A, , and society, India is also home to a diversity of  in a variety of.

Etymology
The name India is derived from ', which is derived from the  word ', from  , the historic local appellation for the. The ancient referred to the ancient Indians as Indoi, the people of the Indus. The and common usage in various Indian languages also recognise Bharat  as an official name of equal status. Hindustan, which is the word for “ of the ” and historically referred to , is also occasionally used as a synonym for all of India.

History
rock shelters with paintings at the in  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, dating back to 3300 in western India. It was followed by the, which laid the foundations of and other cultural aspects of early Indian society. From around 550, many independent kingdoms and republics known as the were established across the country. The empire built by the under Emperor  united most of  in the. From 180 BCE, a series of invasions from followed, including those led by the s, s, s and  in the north-western. From the third century CE, the oversaw the period referred to as ancient "." Among the notable n empires were the, , , , , and. ,, , , and flourished under the patronage of these kings.

Following invasions from Central Asia between the tenth and twelfth centuries, much of north India came under the rule of the, and later the. Mughal emperors gradually expanded their kingdoms to cover large parts of the subcontinent. Nevertheless, several indigenous kingdoms, such as the, flourished, especially in the south. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century, the Mughal supremacy declined and the became the dominant power. From the sixteenth century, several an countries, including, , , and the , started arriving as traders and later took advantage of the fractious nature of relations between the kingdoms to establish in the country. By 1856, most of India was under the control of the. A year later, a nationwide insurrection of rebelling military units and kingdoms, variously referred to as the or, seriously challenged British rule but eventually failed. As a consequence, India came under the direct control of the as a colony of the. During the first half of the twentieth century, a nationwide was launched by the  and other political organizations. Led by, and displaying commitment to , or non-violence, millions of protesters engaged in mass campaigns of. Finally, on, , India gained independence from British rule, but was , in accordance to wishes of the , along the lines of religion to create the  of. Three years later, on, , India became a republic and a new came into effect.

Since independence, India has experienced sectarian violence and 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 ; and with Pakistan, which resulted in wars in, , , and. India is a founding member of the and the  (as part of British India). In 1974, India conducted an underground. This was followed by in 1998, making India a. Beginning in 1991, significant economic reforms have transformed India into in the world, adding to its global and regional clout.

Government
The, the longest and most exhaustive constitution of any independent nation in the world, came into force on January 26, 1950. The of the constitution defines India as a, , ,. India has a quasi-federal form of government and a  operating under a  parliamentary system. It has three branches of governance: the, , and. The is the official  elected indirectly by an  for a five-year term. The is, however, the de facto  and exercises most executive powers. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President and, by convention, is the candidate supported by the  or  holding the majority of seats in the lower house of Parliament.

The legislature of India is the bicameral, which consists of the upper house called the (Council of States) and the lower house called the  (House of People). The Rajya Sabha, a permanent body, has up to 250 members serving staggered six year terms. Most are elected indirectly by the legislatures in proportion to the state's population. The Lok Sabha's 545 members are directly elected by popular vote to represent individual for five year terms.

The executive branch consists of the President, Vice-President, and the (the  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.

India has a unitary three-tier judiciary, consisting of the, headed by the , twenty-one , and a large number of trial courts. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over cases involving and over disputes between states and the Centre, and appellate jurisdiction over the High Courts. It is, and has the power to declare the law and to strike down union or state laws which contravene the. The role as the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution is one of the most important functions of the Supreme Court.

Politics
India is the largest in the world. For most of its democratic history, the federal has been led by the  (INC). State politics have been dominated by several national parties including the INC, the (BJP), the  (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 won the election owing to public discontent with the  declared by the then Prime Minister. In 1989, a -led coalition in alliance with the  coalition won the elections but managed to stay in power for only two years.

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 coalition. In 1998, the BJP formed the (NDA) with several regional parties and became the first non-Congress government to complete a full five-year term. In the, the INC won the largest number of Lok Sabha seats and formed a government with a coalition called the (UPA), supported by various left-leaning parties and members opposed to the BJP.

Foreign relations and Military
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 in Africa and Asia. India is one of the founding members of the. After the and the, India's relationship with the  warmed at the expense of ties with the  and continued to remain so until the end of the. India has fought and won, primarily over. India also fought and won an additional war with Pakistan for in 1971.

In recent years, India has played an influential role in the, , and the. India has been a long time supporter of the, with over 55,000 and police personnel having served in thirty-five UN peace keeping operations deployed across four continents. Despite criticism and military sanctions, India has consistently refused to sign the and the, 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, , and.

India maintains the, which consists of the , , and. Auxiliary forces such as the, the , and the also come under the military's purview. The is the supreme commander of the Indian armed forces. India also became a in 1974 after conducting an initial. in 1998 led to international military sanctions against India, which were gradually withdrawn after September 2001. India maintains a "" nuclear policy and has a clean record of non-proliferation.

Subdivisions
India is a of twenty-eight  and seven. All states, the union territory of Puducherry, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi have elected governments. The other five union territories have appointed administrators and hence are under direct rule of the President. In 1956, under the, states were formed on linguistic basis. Since then this structure has remained largely unchanged. Each state or union territory is divided into basic units of government and administration called. There are in India. The districts in turn are further divided into  and eventually into.

Major Cities: •  •  •  •  •

Geography
India, the major portion of the, sits atop the , the northwestern portion of the. Its defining geological processes commenced seventy-five million years ago, when the Indian subcontinent, then part of the southern supercontinent, began a northeastwards , lasting fifty million years, across the then unformed. The subcontinent's subsequent collision with the and  under it, gave rise to the, the planet's highest  mountains, which now abut India in the  and the. Plate movement also created a vast trough in the former seabed immediately south of the Himalayas, which was subsequently filled with river-borne sediment, and now forms the. To the west of this plain, and cut off from it by the, lies the. The original Indian plate now survives as, the oldest and geologically most stable part of India, and extending as far north as the and  ranges in ; these parallel ranges run, west to east, from the Arabian Sea coast in  to the -rich  in. To their south, the remaining peninsular landmass, the, flanked on the left and right by the coastal ranges, and  respectively, 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 and 68°7' and 97°25' east longitude.

India's coast is long; of this distance,  belong to peninsular India, and  to the Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep Islands. According to the Indian naval hydrographic charts, the mainland coast consists of: 43% sandy beaches, 11% rocky coast including cliffs, and 46% or marshy coast. Major Himalayan-origin rivers that substantially flow through India include the and the, both of which drain into the. Important tributaries of the Ganges include the and the, 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, the , the , and the , which also drain into the Bay of Bengal, and the and the , which drain into the. Among notable coastal features of India are the marshy in western India, and the south-western region of the alluvial  delta, which India shares with. India has two archipelagos: the, coral atolls off India's south-western coast, and the , a volcanic chain in the.

India's climate is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert, both of which drive the dynamics of the. The Himalayas prevent cold Central Asian katabatic winds from blowing in, keeping the bulk of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations at similar s. Concurrently, the Thar Desert plays a role in attracting moisture-laden southwest summer monsoon winds that, between June and October, provide the majority of India's rainfall. Four major climatic groupings predominate in India:, , , and.

Flora and fauna
India, lying within the, hosts significant ; it is home to 7.6% of all ian, 12.6% of all , 6.2% of all , 4.4% of all , 11.7% of all , and 6.0% of species. Many, such as the  , exhibit extremely high rates of ; for example, 33% of Indian plant species are endemic. India's forest cover ranges from the of the, , and  to the  of the Himalaya. Between these extremes lie the -dominated forest of eastern India; the -dominated  forest of central and southern India; and the -dominated  of the central Deccan and western Gangetic plain. Important Indian trees include the medicinal, widely used in rural Indian remedies. The  tree, shown on the seals of, shaded  as he sought enlightenment.

Many Indian species are descendants of originating in, to which India originally belonged. subsequent towards, and collision with, the n landmass set off a mass exchange of species. However, and climatic changes 20 million years ago caused the  of many endemic Indian forms. Soon thereafter, mammals entered India from Asia through two passes on either side of the emerging Himalaya. As a result, 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. Notable endemics are the and the brown and carmine  of the Western Ghats. India contains 172, or 2.9%, of -designated threatened species. These include the, the , and the , which suffered a near-extinction from ingesting the carrion of -treated cattle.

In recent decades, human encroachment has posed a threat to India's wildlife; in response, the system of and, first established in 1935, was substantially expanded. In 1972, India enacted the and  to safeguard crucial habitat; further was enacted in the year 1980. Along with, India hosts , four of which are part of the ; are registered under the.

Economy
For most of its post-independence history, India adhered to a quasi- approach with strict government control over participation,, and. However, since 1991, India has gradually opened up its markets through and reduced government controls on foreign trade and investment. Foreign exchange reserves have risen from US$5.8 billion in March 1991 to well over US$250 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, while federal and state budget deficits have decreased. of publicly-owned companies and the opening of certain sectors to private and foreign participation has continued amid political debate. With a growth rate of 9.4% in 2006-07, the Indian economy is among the fastest growing in the world. India's GDP in terms of  is US$1.125 trillion, which makes it the  economy in the world. When measured in terms of (PPP), India has the world's  GDP at US$4.156 trillion. India's (nominal) is $820, ranked  in the world, while its per capita (PPP) of US$3,700 is ranked.

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. Although in India is relatively small (: 32.5 in year 1999- 2000) it has been increasing of late. in India is fairly uneven, with the top 10% of income groups earning 33% of the income. Despite significant economic progress, a quarter of the nation's population earns less than the government-specified of $0.40/day. 27.5% of the population was living below the in 2004–2005. In addition, India has a higher rate of malnutrition among children under the age of three (46% in year 2007) than any other country in the world.

India has a of 509.3 million, 60% of which is employed in  and related industries; 28% in s and related industries; and 12% in. 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.

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, the , , the , , and. More recently, India has capitalised on its large pool of educated, English-speaking people, and trained professionals to become an important destination for multinational corporations and a popular destination for. 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.

Demographics


With an estimated population of 1.12 billion, India is the world's second most populous country and the world's largest democracy. 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  are  (formerly Bombay),,  (formerly Calcutta),  (formerly Madras), Bangalore,  and.

India is the second most culturally, linguistically and genetically diverse geographical entity after the African continent. India is home to two major : (spoken by about 74% of the population) and  (spoken by about 24%). Other languages spoken in India come from the and  linguistic families. , with the largest number of speakers, is the official language of India. English, which is extensively used in business and administration, has the status of a 'subsidiary official language'. The constitution also recognises in particular that are either abundantly spoken or have classical status. The number of dialects in India is as high as 1,652.

Over 800 million Indians (80.5%) are. Other religious groups include (13.4%),  (2.3%),  (1.9%),  (0.8%),  (0.4%),, ,  and others. constitute 8.1% of the population.

India's literacy rate is 64.8% (53.7% for females and 75.3% for males). The state of has the highest literacy rate (91%);  has the lowest (47%). The national is 944 females per 1,000 males. India's is 24.9, and the  of 1.38% per annum; there are 22.01 births per 1,000 people per year.

Culture
India's culture is marked by a high degree of and. It has managed to preserve established traditions while absorbing new customs, traditions, and ideas from invaders and immigrants. concerns have long informed India’s history and traditions, constitution and political arrangements.

, including notable monuments, such as the and other examples of  and, is the result of traditions that combined elements from several parts of the country and abroad. also displays notable regional variation.

covers a wide range of traditions and regional styles. is split mainly between the North Indian and South Indian  traditions. Highly regionalised forms of popular music include and ; the syncretic tradition of the s is a well-known form of the latter.

too has diverse folk and classical forms. Among the well-known are the ' of the, the ' of , the ' of  and  and the ' of. Eight dance forms, many with narrative forms and elements, have been accorded  by India's . These are: ' of the state of, ' of , ' and ' of , ' of , ' of , ' of the state of  and the ' of.

often incorporates music, dance, and improvised or written dialogue. Often based on, but also borrowing from medieval romances, and news of social and political events, Indian theatre includes the ' of state of , the ' of , the ' and ' of North India, the ' of , the ' of , and the  of.

The is the largest in the world. , based in, makes commercial films and is the most prolific film industry in the world. Established traditions also exist in, , , , , and language cinemas.

The earliest works of were transmitted orally and only later written down. These included works of – such as the early, the   and , the drama , and poetry such as the  – and the. Among Indian writers of the modern era active in Indian languages or, won the Nobel Prize in 1913.

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). Spices originally native to the Indian subcontinent that are now consumed world wide include ; in contrast, hot s, popular across India, were introduced by the.

Traditional 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 for women and  or  for men;in addition, stitched clothes such as  for women and - and European-style  and  for men, are also popular.

Many are religious in origin, although several are celebrated irrespective of caste and creed. Some popular festivals are, , , , , , , , , , , and. India has three. 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.

India's national sport is though  is the most popular. In some states, particularly those in the and the states of West Bengal, Goa, and Kerala,  (soccer) is also a popular sport. In recent times, has also gained popularity. , commonly held to have in India, is also gaining popularity with the rise of the number Indian. Traditional sports include, , and , which are played nationwide. India is home to the age-old discipline of and to the ancient,  and.