|
* = site is in Hindi |
|
|
|
Custom Search
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Best viewed with MSIE |
| More History Resources |
 The Burma Road: The Epic Story of the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II (P.S.) |
 Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 (P.S.) |
 India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy |
 White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India |
 The Discovery of India |
 Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation |
 A New History of India |
 Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within |
| ||||
|
About the Country |
|||||
|
|||||
|
Background: The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, goes back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier inhabitants created classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in 12th were followed by European traders beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism under Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU led to independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. Fundamental concerns in India include the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic strife, all this despite impressive gains in economic investment and output.
|
|||||
Map courtesy of www.theodora.com/maps used with permission. |
|||||
|
Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan Geographic coordinates: 20 00 N, 77 00 E Area: Area - comparative: slightly more than one-third the size of the US Land boundaries: Climate: varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north Natural resources: coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land
Population: 1,065,070,607 (July 2004 est.) Population growth rate: 1.44% (2004 est.) Birth rate: 22.8 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) Ethnic groups: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000) Religions: Hindu 81.3%, Muslim 12%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other groups including Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5% (2000) Languages: English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication, Hindi the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people, Bengali (official), Telugu (official), Marathi (official), Tamil (official), Urdu (official), Gujarati (official), Malayalam (official), Kannada (official), Oriya (official), Punjabi (official), Assamese (official), Kashmiri (official), Sindhi (official), Sanskrit (official), Hindustani (a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India)
Government type: federal republic Capital: New Delhi Independence: 15 August 1947 (from UK) National holiday: Republic Day, 26 January (1950) Legal system: based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Economy - Overview: India's economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of support services. More than a third of the population is too poor to be able to afford an adequate diet. India's international payments position remained strong in 2000 with adequate foreign exchange reserves, moderately depreciating nominal exchange rates, and booming exports of software services. Growth in manufacturing output slowed, and electricity shortages continue in many regions. Exports - commodities: textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures Imports - commodities: crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals Currency: Indian rupee (INR)
Military branches: Army, Navy (including naval air arm), Air Force, various security or paramilitary forces (includes Border Security Force, Assam Rifles, Rashtriya Rifles, and National Security Guards) Military expenditures - dollar figure: $14,018.8 million (2003) |
|||||
|
Source of background and statistical data: The World Factbook
For more on India, click here |
|||||
|
