INDIA

India (Hindi: भारत Bhārat; see also other names), officially the Republic of India (Hindi: भारत गणराज्य Bhārat Gaṇarajya), is a sovereign country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world.[11] Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east, India has a coastline of over 7000 kilometres.[8] It borders Pakistan to the west;[12] China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Indonesia.
Home to the Indus Valley civilization and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history.[13] Four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism arrived in the first millennium CE and shaped the region's variegated culture. Gradually annexed by the British East India Company from the early eighteenth century and colonised by the United Kingdom from the mid-nineteenth century, India became a modern nation-state in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by widespread use of nonviolent resistance as a means of social protest.
In the sixty years since, India has become the world's twelfth largest economy at market exchange rates and the third largest in purchasing power. Although India's standard of living is projected to rise sharply in the next half-century, it currently battles high levels of poverty and illiteracy, persistent malnutrition, and environmental degradation. A pluralistic, multi-lingual, and multi-ethnic society, India is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats.
Contents[hide]
1 Etymology
2 History
3 Government
4 Politics
5 Foreign relations and the military
6 Subdivisions
7 Geography
8 Flora and fauna
9 Economy
10 Demographics
11 Culture
12 See also
13 References
14 External links
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Etymology
Main article: Etymology of the names of India
The name India (IPA: /'ɪndiə/) is derived from Indus, which is derived from the Old Persian word Hindu, from Sanskrit Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the Indus River.[14] The ancient Greeks referred to the ancient Indians as Indoi, the people of the Indus.[15] The Constitution of India and common usage in various Indian languages also recognise Bharat (pronunciation (help·info), /bʰɑːrət̪/) as an official name of equal status.[16] Hindustan (/hin̪d̪ust̪ɑːn/ (info)), which is the Persian word for “Land of the Hindus” and historically referred to northern India, is also occasionally used as a synonym for all of India.[17]

History
Main articles: History of India and History of Republic of India
Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh are the earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared over 9,000 years ago and gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilization,[18] dating back to 3300 BCE in western India. It was followed by the Vedic Civilisation, which laid the foundations of Hinduism and other cultural aspects of early Indian society. From around 550 BCE, many independent kingdoms and republics known as the Mahajanapadas were established across the country.[19]

Paintings at the Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.
The empire built by the Maurya dynasty under Emperor Ashoka united most of South Asia in the third century BCE.[20] From 180 BCE, a series of invasions from Central Asia followed, including those led by the Indo-Greeks, Indo-Scythians, Indo-Parthians and Kushans in the north-western Indian Subcontinent. From the third century CE, the Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as ancient India's "Golden Age."[21] While the north had larger, fewer kingdoms, south India had several dynasties such as the Rashtrakutas, Chalukyas, Pallavas and Cholas, which overlapped in time and territory.[22] Science, engineering, art, literature, astronomy, and philosophy 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 Delhi Sultanate, and later the Mughal dynasty. Mughal emperors gradually expanded their kingdoms to cover large parts of the subcontinent. Nevertheless, several indigenous kingdoms, such as the Vijayanagara Empire, flourished, especially in the south. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century, the Mughal supremacy declined and the Maratha Empire became the dominant power. From the sixteenth century, several European countries, including Portugal, Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom, started arriving as traders and later took advantage of the fractious nature of relations between the kingdoms to establish colonies in the country. By 1856, most of India was under the control of the British East India Company.[23] A year later, a nationwide insurrection of rebelling military units and kingdoms, variously referred to as the First War of Indian Independence or Sepoy Mutiny, seriously challenged British rule but eventually failed. As a consequence, India came under the direct control of the British Crown as a colony of the British Empire.

Mahatma Gandhi (right) with India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
During the first half of the twentieth century, a nationwide struggle for independence was launched by the Indian National Congress and other political organisations. Led by Mahatma Gandhi, and displaying commitment to ahimsa, or non-violence, millions of protesters engaged in mass campaigns of civil disobedience.[24] Finally, on 15 August 1947, India gained independence from British rule, but not before losing its Muslim-majority areas, which were carved out into the separate nation-state of Pakistan.[25] Three years later, on 26 January 1950, India became a republic, and a new constitution came into effect.[8]
Since independence, India has experienced sectarian violence and insurgencies 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 Sino-Indian War; and with Pakistan, which resulted in wars in 1947, 1965, 1971, and 1999. India is a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the United Nations (as part of British India). In 1974, India conducted an underground nuclear test.[26] This was followed by five more tests in 1998, making India a nuclear state.[26] Beginning in 1991, significant economic reforms[27] have transformed India into one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, adding to its global and regional clout.[28]

Government
Main article: Government of India
National symbols of India[75]
Flag
Tricolour
Emblem
Sarnath Lion Capital
Anthem
Jana Gana Mana
Song
Vandē Mātaram
Animal
Royal Bengal Tiger
Bird
Indian Peacock
Flower
Lotus
Tree
Banyan
Fruit
Mango
Sport
Field hockey
Calendar
Saka
India is the largest democracy in the world.[11] The Constitution defines India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic.[29] India has a federal form of government and a bicameral parliament operating under a Westminster-style parliamentary system. It has three branches of governance: the Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary. The President of India is the official head of state[29] elected indirectly by an electoral college[30] for a five-year term.[31] The Prime Minister is, however, the de facto head of government and exercises most executive powers.[29] The Prime Minister is appointed by the President,[32] with the requirement that they enjoy the support of the party or coalition securing the majority of seats in the lower house of Parliament.
The legislature of India is the bicameral Parliament, which consists of the upper house called the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the lower house called the Lok Sabha (House of People).[29] The Rajya Sabha, a permanent body, has up to 250 members serving staggered six year terms.[33] Most are elected indirectly by the state and territorial legislatures in proportion to the state's population.[33] The Lok Sabha's 545 members are directly elected by popular vote to represent individual constituencies for five year terms.[33]
The executive branch consists of the President, Vice-President, and the Council of Ministers (the Cabinet 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.[34]
India's independent judiciary consists of the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of India. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over disputes between states and the Centre, appellate jurisdiction over the twenty-one High Courts of India, and the power to declare union and state laws null and void if in conflict with the basic structure of the Constitution of India.[34]

Politics
Main article: Politics of India
For most of its democratic history, the federal Government of India has been led by the Indian National Congress (INC). State politics have been dominated by several national parties including the INC, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Communist Party of India (CPI), and various regional parties. From 1950 to 1990, the INC enjoyed a parliamentary majority barring two brief periods. The INC was out of power between 1977 and 1980, when the Janata Party won the election owing to public discontent with the "Emergency" declared by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In 1989, a Janata Dal led National Front coalition in alliance with the Left Front 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 United Front coalition. In 1998, the BJP formed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with several regional parties and became the first non-Congress government to complete a full five-year term. In the 2004 Indian elections, the INC won the largest number of Lok Sabha seats and formed a government with a coalition called the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), supported by various left-leaning parties and members opposed to the BJP.

Foreign relations and the military
Main articles: Foreign relations of India and Indian Armed Forces

The Nuclear capable Agni-II ballistic missile during a Republic Day parade.
Since independence in 1947, India has maintained cordial relationships with most nations. It took a leading role in the 1950s by advocating the independence of European colonies in Africa and Asia. India is one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement.[35] After the Sino-Indian War and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, India's relationship with the Soviet Union warmed at the expense of ties with the United States and continued to remain so until the end of the Cold War. India has fought and won several wars with Pakistan, primarily over Kashmir. India also fought an additional war with Pakistan for the the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.